Ukraine's Prosecutor General denies involvement in scam call center protection racket

Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko on Sept. 6 denied any connection to a criminal organization running protection for scam call centers to launder millions of hryvnias, allegedly involving a senior official in Kravchenko's office.

The alleged criminal scheme was uncovered by Ukraine's two chief anti-corruption bodies — Ukraine's National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO) — on Sept. 5.

The Prosecutor General's Office later confirmed that searches were conducted in Kravchenko's office as part of the probe.

"I have no involvement whatsoever in covering up illegal call centers, I have not issued any instructions to facilitate such activities, and I have not used the powers of the Prosecutor General for this purpose," Kravchenko wrote on Telegram on Sept. 6.

"Regarding the Prosecutor General's Office employee who is implicated in the investigation, decisions have already been taken. He has been suspended from his duties," Kravchenko wrote.

That employee is understood to be Serhii Kropyva, who NABU detained on Sept. 4, law enforcement sources told the Kyiv Independent. A court is considering restricting his movements as the investigation is ongoing.

According to investigators, the official created the group in mid-2025, recruiting serving prosecutors and associates outside the Prosecutor General's Office.

The group allegedly received systematic bribes in exchange for allowing scam call centers to operate without interference. The call centers targeted both Ukrainian citizens and foreigners, investigators said.

Kravchenko also announced that all staff working on cases involving illegal call centers would now have to undergo polygraph testing.

"No position will protect anyone," he said.

However, Kravchenko himself has been implicated in the plot.

Recordings released by NABU refer to someone identified as the "boss" who protected the group Kropyva is thought to have led, who had the patronymic "Andriiovych," and who previously led the State Tax Service.

Ruslan Andriiovych Kravchenko served as head of Ukraine's State Tax Service from December 2024 to June 2025.

An earlier Telegram post by the Prosecutor General's Office confirms that the investigation understands the term "boss" as referring to Kravchenko.

"During the investigative proceedings, full access was granted to my office and to everything that needed to be inspected. No obstacles were put in the way. I have nothing to hide," Kravchenko said.

The case comes amid a series of high-profile NABU investigations, including probes involving Zelensky's former Deputy Chief of Staff Iryna Mudra and former Chief of Staff Andriy Yermak, as well as the major Energoatom corruption case.

The Prosecutor General heads the overall system of court prosecutions in Ukraine and is appointed directly by the president.

The EU has made it a condition of Ukraine's eventual membership of the bloc that Kyiv "depoliticize the position of the Prosecutor General, including by making the selection and dismissal procedures more objective, transparent, and merit-based, taking into account European standards."

A proposed reform to address that concern was introduced in the parliament, but was shot down by the law enforcement committee on Aug. 19.