The Council supported Kravchenko's dismissal from the post of Prosecutor General
The Verkhovna Rada on September 15 agreed with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to dismiss Ruslan Kravchenko from the post of Prosecutor General. The draft resolution No. 16064 was supported by 317 MPs in its entirety.
MP Yaroslav Zheleznyak reported the voting results.
The day before, on September 14, Zelenskyy suspended Kravchenko from the post of Prosecutor General and submitted a motion to the Verkhovna Rada for his dismissal.
On the same day, the relevant parliamentary Committee on Law Enforcement reviewed the presidential motion and recommended that the Verkhovna Rada grant consent to Kravchenko's dismissal. On September 15, the resolution was put to a vote in parliament.
After the Verkhovna Rada's decision, the president must formalize Kravchenko's dismissal from the post.
Dismissal amid the case of "protection" of call centers
The change of leadership in the Prosecutor General's Office comes amid an investigation by NABU and SAPO into the alleged "protection" of fraudulent call centers by certain prosecutors.
At the beginning of September, anti-corruption bodies announced the exposure of a criminal organization allegedly headed by Serhiy Kropyva, one of the heads of a structural unit of the PGO. Participants of the scheme are suspected of systematically receiving unlawful benefits from fraudulent call centers and money laundering.
According to data previously published by "Ukrainska Pravda", representatives of the Prosecutor General's Office could receive about $7,000 per month from one call center.
On September 7, after a meeting with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Kravchenko stated that he had submitted his resignation. This happened after the president separately held a meeting with the heads of NABU and SAPO.
Conflict around the "suspicion" of NABU Director
Another conflict arose directly before Kravchenko's suspension. He stated that he had signed a notice of suspicion to NABU Director Semen Kryvonos and sent the documents by mail.
According to published data, the relevant registered letters were sent on September 13, when Kravchenko still held the post of Prosecutor General.
However, the Prosecutor General's Office itself later stated that within the relevant criminal proceedings, no person, including the head of the anti-corruption body, was notified of suspicion in accordance with the CPC procedure. The PGO also noted that there were no legal grounds for this.
On September 15, "Ukrposhta" also became involved in the situation. The company stated that it was checking the circumstances of the registration of Kravchenko's letters and had requested official clarifications regarding their further processing.
"Ukrposhta" separately noted that, judging by the published receipts, the shipment was paid in cash at the post office, although the contract between the company and the Prosecutor General's Office provides for non-cash payment for postal services.
Based on materials from: Yaroslav Zheleznyak, Verkhovna Rada, Office of the President
