Kravchenko before his resignation signed a suspicion to the NABU director, Zelenskyy and the Bureau reacted (Updated)
General Prosecutor Ruslan Kravchenko, who submitted his resignation, stated that he signed a notice of suspicion to NABU Director Semen Kryvonos. NABU and SAP in response called his statements a continuation of a "systematic attack" on anti-corruption bodies and stressed that as of now Kryvonos has not been officially served any suspicion. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has already harshly reacted to this initiative of the prosecutor general.
Kravchenko released the corresponding statement amid the NABU and SAP operation "Carthage" and his own resignation announcement.
According to Kravchenko, the suspicion against Kryvonos allegedly concerns forging official documents to obtain unlawful benefit in an especially large amount, as well as fictitious adoption, which, as the prosecutor general claims, was intended to create grounds for avoiding responsibility in court.
Kravchenko did not publish the suspicion document, criminal proceedings number, or detailed evidentiary base in his statement. He said he is confident in the collected materials and ready to publish them.
Kravchenko also said he signed a second suspicion against a person he called close to SAP head Oleksandr Klymenko. He did not name this person. According to him, it is about influencing judges of the High Anti-Corruption Court, offering them unlawful benefit and facilitating evasion of mobilization.
The Prosecutor General claims that the investigation of this case became the reason for NABU and SAP searches in the Prosecutor General's Office. He also stated that during the investigative actions, detectives gained access to materials of proceedings against heads and employees of anti-corruption bodies and related persons, and part of the documents and electronic data were allegedly copied and seized.
According to Kravchenko, the Prosecutor General's Office provides procedural guidance in dozens of cases where possible crimes of NABU and SAP employees are being investigated. He stated that during these cases more than 100 people were questioned and materials of covert investigative actions were collected.
Separately, Kravchenko claims that President Volodymyr Zelenskyy previously politically restrained him from making these procedural decisions, and representatives of anti-corruption bodies allegedly offered him "immunity guarantees" in exchange for dropping suspicions. He did not provide public evidence of these claims in his statement.
Kravchenko called on Kryvonos and SAP head Oleksandr Klymenko to resign, stating that the conflict should not drag the bodies they head into confrontation.
Later Kravchenko published copies of documents and stated that the notice of suspicion has been registered in the ERDR and sent in accordance with the procedure prescribed by law.
Zelenskyy reacted harshly
The President commented on the actions of Ruslan Kravchenko in his Telegram channel:
"This Prosecutor General has only one way: dismissal from office. That is exactly what I told him.
Ukraine has seen all the reasons. If he considers this political pressure, let him call it that. I ask parliamentarians to support this dismissal urgently."
NABU and SAP reaction
After Kravchenko's statement, NABU and SAP issued a joint response, calling his actions a continuation of a "systematic attack on independent anti-corruption bodies".
The anti-corruption bodies stressed that as of now NABU Director Semen Kryvonos has not been officially served any suspicion. Therefore, the prosecutor general's statements currently have, in their opinion, a "public, not procedural, character".
NABU also denied Kravchenko's statements about alleged seizure of criminal proceedings during investigative actions in the Prosecutor General's Office. The Bureau stated that it did not seize any proceedings Kravchenko mentioned, and these statements "do not correspond to reality".
Separately, NABU and SAP denied the prosecutor general's words about alleged offers of "immunity guarantees" in exchange for refusing to sign suspicions. The anti-corruption bodies stated that they have never offered or demanded immunity for their employees or other persons.
NABU and SAP promised to publish more detailed information later.
The prosecutor general's statement came after the "Carthage" operation, during which NABU and SAP announced the exposure of a criminal organization that, according to the investigation, was headed by one of the heads of a structural unit of the Prosecutor General's Office. Anti-corruption bodies claimed systematic receipt of bribes from fraudulent call centers and legalization of illegally obtained funds.
On September 7, Kravchenko reported that he had submitted his resignation, calling it a political decision. To terminate his powers, the dismissal must go through the procedure provided by law - a vote in the Verkhovna Rada.
Materials from: Ruslan Kravchenko, NABU, NABU
