Ukraine’s Prosecutor General Resigns as Anti-Graft Probe Widens
Ukraine’s prosecutor general Ruslan Kravchenko submitted his resignation as anti-corruption investigators widened a probe into an alleged call-center protection and money-laundering network inside his office.
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An abrupt reversal under pressure
Ruslan Kravchenko submitted his resignation to President Volodymyr Zelensky and Ukraine’s parliament on Sept. 7, hours after saying he did not intend to leave voluntarily. He called the move a conscious “political decision” and said he did not want the office turned into an instrument of political confrontation.kyivindependent +1 Kravchenko maintained that he had no role in the conduct under investigation.kyivindependent
The submission does not immediately remove him. Ukraine’s president appoints and dismisses the prosecutor general with the consent of the Verkhovna Rada, and the officeholder’s powers end when the relevant parliamentary resolution takes effect.kyivpost
The call-center case reaches the prosecutor’s office
The resignation follows Operation Carthage, an investigation by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office. Investigators allege that a group formed inside the Prosecutor General’s Office in mid-2025, collected recurring bribes to shield fraudulent call centers and laundered proceeds through property, third-party assets and bank accounts.kyivindependent +1
Five alleged members have been identified. Serhii Kropyva, a deputy head of the office’s international cooperation department, was detained and remanded in custody with bail set at 120 million hryvnias, about $2.7 million.kyivindependent +1 Kravchenko’s office was searched, although he said access was initially delayed because detectives had not specified which rooms they intended to inspect; he later ordered staff to grant access to offices, other rooms and safes.kyivpost
Recordings released by investigators refer to a protective figure called the “boss,” described with the patronymic Andriiovych and as a former head of the State Tax Service. Those details correspond to Kravchenko, who led the tax agency before becoming prosecutor general, but NABU has not publicly named him as a suspect.kyivindependent +1
A test of institutional credibility
Kravchenko’s rapid change in position sharpened the political stakes. Earlier the same day, he said he would leave if Zelensky initiated his dismissal or parliament approved it, while insisting that a court—not an investigator—must have the final say.ukrinform The later resignation shifts the immediate focus from whether he can remain in office to whether lawmakers will formalize his departure and how the investigation proceeds without political interference.
The case also tests the separation between Ukraine’s general prosecution service and the specialized anti-corruption bodies investigating officials within it. Kravchenko has said scrutiny is warranted but accusations must be supported by facts, while investigators’ public case so far centers on alleged conduct by Kropyva and other members of the organization.mezha +1 His exit may ease pressure on the institution, but it does not resolve the allegations or establish criminal responsibility.