Ukraine's fugitive ex-prosecutor general alleges conspiracy, anti-graft agencies hit back
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The National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO) on Oct. 27 denied former Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko’s allegations that their officials were involved in a conspiracy against him.
Kravchenko remains on the run, despite not being officially charged.
The former prosecutor general broke a month-long silence after fleeing Ukraine to Austria amid a corruption scandal involving senior officials from the Prosecutor General's Office.
His statement came after two Ukrainian military intelligence (HUR) officers were detained in Austria in early October, Austrian newspaper Der Standard reported.
In a social media post, Kravchenko claimed the officers belonged to Artan, a special military intelligence unit. He said one of them had previously worked in NABU's external surveillance unit and that Artan commander Viktor Torkotiuk had also allegedly been in Austria at the time.
Kravchenko said he learned in September that a group had allegedly been sent to carry out "unlawful acts of violence," claiming NABU and SAPO chiefs and the President's Office may have been behind it.
Kravchenko didn't elaborate on his sources, saying he "lacked reliable information on who had issued" the alleged order.
"The statement regarding NABU and SAPO's involvement in any of the events mentioned is untrue," the bureau told the Kyiv Independent, describing Kravchenko's statement as an attempt to "secure protection for himself in his country of residence."
Austria rarely extradites Ukrainian nationals to Ukraine, making it a potential refuge for former Ukrainian officials facing corruption charges at home. Several have sought shelter there, complicating Kyiv’s efforts to bring them back to face prosecution.
The President's Office and HUR haven't commented on the claims.
Kravchenko's personal office was searched by the Anti-Corruption Bureau in early September as part of a sweeping corruption probe into an alleged racket protecting scam call centers, reportedly operated out of the Prosecutor General’s Office.
Within the investigation, a top prosecutor described as a "confidant" of Kravchenko was charged. Publicly revealed evidence hints at Kravchenko being implicated, and he submitted his resignation on Sept. 7.
Kravchenko left Ukraine on Sept. 14 and simultaneously approved charges against Semen Kryvonos, the head of the Anti-Corruption Bureau investigating him.
The charges were canceled by the Prosecutor General's Office late on Sept. 14, and Kravchenko was dismissed by parliament the next day.
