Outgoing Ukraine prosecutor general signs suspicion against anti-corruption chief; Zelenskyy calls for his dismissal
Ukraine's outgoing Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko said he had signed a notice of suspicion against the head of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU), escalating a confrontation with the country's independent anti-corruption agencies days after submitting his resignation.
Kravchenko said NABU Director Semen Kryvonos is suspected of forging official documents to obtain an improper benefit and arranging a fictitious adoption.
He also claimed President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had previously “politically restrained” him from pursuing the case. Kravchenko further alleged that NABU and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO) had offered him immunity in exchange for not signing the suspicion.
NABU rejected the allegations, calling Kravchenko's move a “continuation of a systemic attack” on Ukraine's independent anti-corruption institutions. It said neither NABU nor SAPO had offered anyone immunity and noted that Kryvonos had not been formally served with the notice of suspicion.
Zelenskyy responded by urging parliament to approve Kravchenko's dismissal.
“This prosecutor general has only one path: dismissal from office. That is exactly what I told him,” Zelenskyy said.
Kravchenko submitted his resignation earlier this month following a NABU and SAPO investigation dubbed “Carthage,” which targeted an alleged criminal organization led by an official in the Prosecutor General's Office and accused of protecting fraudulent call centers.
Kravchenko has denied involvement and accused the anti-corruption agencies of targeting him.