Ukraine's chief prosecutor steps down amid call centre money-laundering probe
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Chief Prosecutor Ruslan Kravchenko resigned after anti-corruption investigators linked his office to a scheme laundering funds from fraudulent call centres, which he denied.
Ukraine's chief prosecutor, Ruslan Kravchenko, submitted his resignation following a weekend search of his offices by anti-corruption investigators who said they uncovered a money-laundering network operating within his department. The National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAP) said the scheme involved receiving payments to protect call centres that carried out phone scams and laundering millions of assets.
In his resignation letter, Kravchenko wrote that he did not want his position to be used as a "tool for political confrontation" and reiterated his earlier claim that the allegations were "unsubstantiated". He thanked President Volodymyr Zelensky and the parliament for their "trust".
The president has not yet commented publicly on the resignation. European ambassadors, including those from the G7, expressed concern that the development could affect Ukraine's EU integration prospects. Earlier, protests had erupted after Zelensky attempted reforms perceived to limit the independence of NABU and SAP, prompting a reversal of those measures.
The anti-corruption bodies have recently disclosed other cases, such as a scheme that misappropriated more than $3 million in Ukrainian currency to pay bail for a former energy minister. Former defence minister Mykhailo Fedorov, speaking to the BBC, said the president should be asked whether he was aware of any corruption among his close advisers.