Ukrainian Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko declared a formal suspicion against NABU Director Artem Kryvonos, stating, “The suspicion notice has been registered in the Unified Register of Pre-Trial Investigations and sent in accordance with the law. More will follow,” alongside copies of the accusation.
The notice cites Kryvonos for allegations related to document forgery, complicity, an attempted criminal offense, and receipt of illegal benefits. During his announcement, Kravchenko accused him of falsifying official documents to gain substantial illicit benefits and of fictitious adoption aimed at creating a basis to evade judicial accountability.
People’s Deputy Yaroslav Zheleznyak from the Holos party commented on the published suspicion notice, stating that there are issues with its delivery process. He pointed out that it should have been formally signed and served, suggesting that either Kravchenko, who is currently abroad, or another prosecutor should have executed this.
Zheleznyak also pointed out discrepancies in the registration of the document, noting that the outgoing document number was not officially registered, and instead, a criminal case number was written in. He speculated that either the office refused to register it or Kravchenko acted alone.
According to NABU, as of September 14, no official suspicion notice had been delivered to Kryvonos. They described Kravchenko’s actions as part of a systematic attack on independent anti-corruption institutions, which they claimed began last summer, aiming to subordinate NABU and SAP to the Prosecutor General’s Office.
Following Kravchenko’s remarks, President Volodymyr Zelensky emphasized that Kravchenko’s only path forward is to resign and urged parliamentarians to expedite this process.
Context
- On September 4, NABU and SAP announced a special operation to expose a criminal organization suspected of being managed by an official from the Prosecutor General’s Office of Ukraine. Anti-corruption bodies indicated that this organization may be involved in protecting fraudulent call centers and legalizing property, referred to as “Carthage.”
- According to case materials, the defendants accepted bribes for “protection” of call centers and laundered these funds. The prosecutor’s office official reportedly collaborated with active prosecutors, as per NABU’s findings. The bureau released photos of cash and vehicles seized from the suspects, along with recordings of phone conversations where voices of the accused were allegedly heard, discussing how to use their positions to appoint “their” people and control illegal financial flows.
- Kravchenko stated to journalists on September 7 that he had no intention of resigning but would consider it if directly asked by colleagues, President Zelensky, or parliament. Reports indicated that on the same day, Zelensky met with the head of the Servant of the People faction and Kravchenko regarding the Prosecutor General’s future. Following this meeting, Kravchenko announced his resignation. Zelensky later confirmed this meeting and noted he also spoke with the heads of NABU and SAP.
