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Volodymyr Zelenskyy (Photo: REUTERS/Liesa Johannssen)
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he met with Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko as well as the heads of NABU and SAPO on Sept. 7, responding to questions from journalists.
"Yesterday, I devoted the day specifically to personnel issues. ... I met with the heads of NABU and SAPO and Prosecutor General [Ruslan Kravchenko]. ... I am sure you understand what we discussed. I had a fairly long meeting with the prosecutor general. He submitted the relevant resignation letter, and a motion will be sent to the Verkhovna Rada," the president said.
Zelenskyy said he also met Monday with Security Service of Ukraine chief Oleksandr Poklad, military intelligence chief Oleh Ivashchenko and Presidential Office head Kyrylo Budanov.
"I think everyone understands the details and why I met with them," he said, adding that "relevant decisions" had been made following his conversation with Poklad.
On Sept. 7, Ukrainska Pravda, citing sources in political circles, reported that Zelenskyy met with Kravchenko and Servant of the People parliamentary faction leader Davyd Arakhamia to discuss whether Kravchenko would remain in office.
The meeting came amid a NABU and SAPO investigation into an alleged protection scheme involving call centers. One of the suspects in the case is Serhii Kropyva, deputy head of the International Cooperation Department at the Prosecutor General's Office.
Following the meeting, Kravchenko submitted his resignation as prosecutor general.
Carthage case
On Sept. 4, NABU announced a special operation targeting an alleged criminal organization headed by an employee of the Prosecutor General's Office. NABU and SAPO detained Serhii Kropyva, head of the office's cyber department. The anti-corruption agencies said the official may have been involved in protecting a network of fraudulent call centers and laundering assets.
The Prosecutor General's Office later said it was ready to fully cooperate with anti-corruption agencies in their investigation into the possible involvement of one of its employees in illegal activities linked to fraudulent call centers.
The High Anti-Corruption Court ordered Kropyva held in custody until Nov. 2 with bail set at 120 million hryvnias. He is suspected of protecting illegal call centers and laundering assets worth more than 89 million hryvnias. Kropyva's lawyers said they would appeal the ruling.
On Sept. 7, the High Anti-Corruption Court ordered Yelyzaveta Ivakhnenko, a suspect in the Carthage case known as "Muse" and Kropyva's partner, held in custody for 60 days with bail set at 20 million hryvnias.
The same day, the High Anti-Corruption Court imposed a pretrial measure on another suspect in the Carthage case, Serhii Kutsyi, Kropyva's driver. He was ordered held in custody until Nov. 3 with bail set at 3 million hryvnias.
Ukrainska Pravda, citing sources, reported that NABU and SAPO conducted searches involving Kravchenko, his deputy Maria Vdovychenko and Odesa regional governor Oleh Kiper.
According to Ukrainska Pravda's sources, investigators searching Vdovychenko found materials indicating surveillance of the heads of anti-corruption agencies, their families and subordinates. Sources in the prosecutor's office said they received instructions on the morning of Sept. 7 to "systematize all available materials" concerning NABU and SAPO. They said that despite recent developments, the prosecutor general intended to counter the anti-corruption agencies.
The Prosecutor General's Office initially denied reports that Kravchenko had been searched on the evening of Sept. 4. However, on Sept. 5, the office said that "at around midnight, NABU detectives nevertheless conducted investigative actions in offices used by the prosecutor general, the first deputy prosecutor general, as well as other employees and structural divisions of the Prosecutor General's Office."
On Sept. 7, Kravchenko said he had no procedural status in the Carthage case and described the situation surrounding him as an attempt to exert political pressure.
"My office and my home were searched. No other investigative actions were conducted. I have no procedural status as either a witness or a suspect in the Carthage case. ... Someone is interested in removing me from here. I am inconvenient for many people," he said.
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