New acting Prosecutor General Kovalsky named first steps at helm of PGO after "Carthage"
Acting Prosecutor General Anton Kovalsky said that in the coming days he will complete the service and personnel procedures regarding prosecutors, initiated in connection with the circumstances investigated within the NABU and SAPO operation "Carthage". He also promised professional interaction with anti-corruption bodies and a review of problematic areas and high-profile proceedings.
This was Kovalsky's first public statement after President Volodymyr Zelensky appointed him acting Prosecutor General on September 17.
According to Kovalsky, a change in leadership should not affect the work of the Prosecutor General's Office and regional prosecutor's offices. He named the organization of uninterrupted operation of the system and ensuring its effectiveness as his primary task.
In the coming days, the acting Prosecutor General plans to hold meetings with heads of key departments of the PGO and regional prosecutor's offices. They are to separately consider problematic areas, high-profile criminal proceedings, personnel issues, and decisions that, according to him, cannot be postponed.
Kovalsky named the consequences of the "Carthage" operation as a separate area.
"We will not accuse anyone until guilt is established in the manner prescribed by law. But the position of prosecutor cannot be a reason to protect someone or create special conditions for them", he said.
Kovalsky also said that the Prosecutor General's Office will interact with NABU and SAPO "professionally and within the law", and each of the bodies must work within the limits of defined powers.
Operation "Carthage" concerns an alleged criminal organization in the Prosecutor General's Office. According to NABU and SAPO, its members systematically received unlawful benefits from fraudulent call centers and laundered the proceeds of crime. Anti-corruption bodies consider one of the then heads of a structural unit of the PGO to be the organizer.
One of the main figures in the proceedings is Serhiy Kropyva, former deputy head of the Department of International Cooperation of the PGO. He and other figures are suspected, in particular, of creating a criminal organization, receiving bribes for non-interference in the activities of fraudulent call centers, and laundering illegally obtained property. Kropyva denies receiving unlawful benefits and "protection" of call centers.
Kovalsky replaced Ruslan Kravchenko in the leadership of the prosecutor's office. On September 14, Zelensky suspended Kravchenko from office, and on September 15, after the consent of the Verkhovna Rada, he signed a decree on his dismissal.
In the last days before his dismissal, Kravchenko stated that he had signed a notice of suspicion to NABU Director Semen Kryvonos. Subsequently, the Prosecutor General's Office reported that in the relevant criminal proceedings, no person, including the head of the anti-corruption body, was notified of suspicion in accordance with the procedure prescribed by the CPC.
Kovalsky said he is ready to answer questions about his work and plans to present first results in his new position in the near future.
Sources: Anton Kovalsky, Office of the President of Ukraine, NABU
