Criminal Network Led by Prosecutor General’s Office Authority Exposed by NABU, SAPO

Ukraine’s National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO) are conducting a special operation to expose a criminal organization allegedly led by an official at the Prosecutor General’s Office. The operation, according to NABU’s statement on Friday, Sept. 4, targets a scheme in which the official allegedly provided protection for a network of fraudulent call centers, while also helping launder proceeds tied to the operation.JOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official. Sources cited by Ukrainska Pravda said the agencies had already detained Serhii Kropyva, the head of the Cyber Department at the Prosecutor General’s Office. No further details have been released, though both agencies indicated that additional information would be made public as the operation progresses. Kropyva’s rise within the Prosecutor’s Office Kropyva’s appointment to his current post has drawn scrutiny before. According to Ukrainska Pravda, then-Prosecutor General Iryna Venediktova appointed him to a senior position without holding a competitive selection process in 2022. He was her husband’s former colleague. Subsequently, Venediktova created a new department tasked with overseeing both economic crimes and the state’s cybersecurity efforts. Kropyva was placed as the head of that department – again, without a selection process – despite the position’s significant authority over sensitive law enforcement functions. Other Topics of Interest Ukraine Reveals Moscow Invite for Possible Putin Meeting The Ukrainian delegation considered traveling despite the risk that Budanov, wanted in Russia, could be arrested or face worse consequences. However, Kropyva had prior experience in the field, having worked within Ukraine’s cyber police. He previously served as head of the agency’s Kyiv department before eventually rising to first deputy head of the national cyber police force, Ukrainska Pravda reported. Before taking up his current post, Kropvya served as deputy head of the Odesa Oblast State Administration as part of Governor Oleh Kiper’s team. Part of a broader anti-corruption push The case adds to a series of anti-graft investigations targeting senior bank officials, current and former lawmakers, as well as former officials from the Presidential Office. NABU and SAPO announced Operation “Forrest Gump” on Aug. 19, linked to a previous probe dubbed “Operation Midas” involving Tymur Mindich, a former business associate of President Volodymyr Zelensky, and former Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko. Reporting and court proceedings have linked the money-laundering scheme investigation to former deputy presidential chief Iryna Mudra – who was ousted just hours after the probe was announced, current lawmaker Vadym Stolar, former lawmaker Maksym Mykytas, former Sense Bank officials Mykola Hladyshenko and Oleh Stupak, and businessman Vasyl Astion, whose investigation is still ongoing. Around the same time on Aug. 19, Hladyshenko was removed as chairman of the supervisory board of state-owned Sense Bank. On Aug. 20, Prime Minister Serhii Koretskyi announced that the Ministry of Finance had been ordered to accelerate the sale of Sense Bank, with the sale revenue pledged to Ukraine’s Defense Forces. According to the deputy head of Ukraine’s State Financial Monitoring Service (SFMS) Bohdan Korolchuk on Wednesday, Sept. 2, 21 banks, including four state-owned lenders, were used to channel funds for the Hr.150 million (roughly $3.3 million) bail posted for Halushchenko. The four state-owned institutions involved were Sense Bank, Oschadbank, PrivatBank and Ukreximbank, while the bail funds were transferred between June 25 and June 29. Halushchenko’s bail was reportedly paid at the end of June, after the High Anti-Corruption Court (HACC) reduced the amount from Hr. 200 million (roughly $4.5 million) to Hr. 150 million (approximately $3.4 million). Kyiv Post is Ukraine’s first and oldest English news organization, reporting since 1995. Its international reach – 97% of readers are outside of Ukraine – make it truly Ukraine’s global voice.