NABU and SAPO launch “Carthage” operation at Prosecutor General’s Office, official detained

Update at 10:30 p.m.

According to sources at “Ukrainska Pravda,” the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the Special Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO) conducted searches at the offices of the Prosecutor General and his deputy, as well as at the office of the head of the Odesa Regional State Administration.

However, OGP spokesperson Mariana Gayovska told “Ukrainska Pravda” that no searches were conducted at the Prosecutor General’s residence or office.

This information comes from NABU.

The special operation is aimed at exposing a criminal organization that, according to preliminary data, was involved in covering up the activities of a network of fraudulent call centers and laundering assets.

According to sources at “Ukrainska Pravda” and People’s Deputy Oleksiy Honcharenko, NABU detectives and prosecutors from the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO) detained Serhiy Kropiva, deputy head of the OGP’s Department of International Legal Cooperation.

What is known about Serhiy Kropiva

According to “Ukrainska Pravda” in 2022, then-Prosecutor General Iryna Venediktova appointed Kropiva to a leadership position without a competitive selection process.

At that time, a new department was created within the Office of the Prosecutor General to address issues of economic crimes and national cybersecurity. Serhiy Kropiva was appointed to head it.

Before joining the Office of the Prosecutor General, Kropiva worked in the cyber police—he headed the Kyiv department and also served as the first deputy head of the unit. He later served as deputy head of the Odesa Regional State Administration under Oleg Kipper.

Comments from the Office of the Prosecutor General

The Office of the Prosecutor General commented on the NABU investigation into the agency. They stated that the OGP employee, whose involvement in the activities of fraudulent call centers is being investigated, will be suspended from duty for the duration of the investigation.

They also promise to provide full cooperation to NABU and the SAPO.

As a reminder, NABU and the SAPO have expanded the list of suspects in the case involving a criminal organization that, according to the investigation, was engaged in corporate raiding, property fraud, and the laundering of illicit funds.