Ukraine's prosecutor general resigns as major corruption probe rocks his office
Ukraine's Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko submitted his resignation late on Sept. 7 as a major corruption investigation involving a senior official in his office raised questions about unexplained wealth and alleged protection of fraudulent call centers.
Kravchenko announced his resignation at 11:07 p.m., calling it a "political decision" that he had made consciously.
"I do not want the position of prosecutor general to be used as an instrument of political confrontation. My position regarding the accusations remains unchanged," he wrote, asking President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and parliament to accept his resignation.
The announcement came after Ukraine's National Anti-Corruption Bureau, or NABU, unveiled details of an operation code-named "Carthage," targeting an alleged criminal organization led by Serhii Kropyva, a deputy head of a department at the Prosecutor General's Office.
According to investigators, the group systematically received bribes from fraudulent call centers in exchange for protection and laundered assets worth tens of millions of hryvnias. Kropyva was detained on Sept. 4.
A prosecutor from the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office, or SAPO, said in court that Kropyva had acted with the "full support" of Kravchenko. In recordings released by NABU, Kropyva also refers to an unidentified "Chief" as "Andriyovych" — the same patronymic as Kravchenko's.
Kravchenko has denied any involvement in protecting fraudulent call centers or laundering assets.
More than $1 million in assets linked to relatives and associates
A hromadske investigation found that Kropyva's relatives and associates acquired more than $1 million worth of houses, apartments and vehicles in recent years, while Kropyva himself acquired virtually no property during his time in public service.
According to investigators, Kropyva registered businesses in relatives' names and used them to move money that could then be presented as legitimate income explaining the origin of the assets.
His mother and father alone officially spent about $650,000 on property since 2020, hromadske found.
His mother bought a Kyiv apartment in 2020 and, the following year, a house and land in Lisnyky, outside Kyiv, for more than $200,000. The house is now used by Kropyva, although he declares it as unfinished construction. She later acquired a Toyota RAV4 and a 125-square-meter apartment in Kyiv.
Kropyva's father also acquired property in Kyiv and the surrounding region. Before establishing his businesses, he provided a loan worth more than $130,000 in 2020, secured against a 290-square-meter house in Odesa.
Another figure appearing in the NABU recordings, 24-year-old Yelyzaveta Ivakhnenko, acquired more than $200,000 in property and a vehicle in 2025 alone, according to hromadske's investigation.
Russian passports and property in Ukraine
The investigation also uncovered Russian ties among Kropyva's in-laws.
Kropyva's wife, Iryna, appears to have received a Russian passport in the Komi Republic in 2004, according to database records reviewed by hromadske. The document is no longer valid.
Her parents, Oleksandr and Halyna Rohovchenko, still hold Russian citizenship, according to leaked database records. Their Russian passport details can also be verified through Russia's Federal Tax Service.
Despite holding Russian citizenship, the couple acquired more than $200,000 worth of property in Ukraine.
Halyna Rohovchenko acquired three premises in Kyiv's Faina Town residential complex in 2021 for more than $80,000. In November 2022, after Russia's full-scale invasion had begun, Oleksandr Rohovchenko acquired another property there for more than $90,000. He bought another Kyiv apartment in 2025 for more than $30,000.
The Russian connection could be relevant to the investigation into the origin of the family's wealth.
According to investigators, Kropyva discussed explaining the origin of property in Ukraine through income earned by relatives in Russia. Hromadske could not establish that the relatives mentioned in those conversations were the Rohovchenkos.
Database records reviewed by hromadske, however, indicate that the couple's deposits in Russian banks were far too small to account for assets worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.
The prosecutor general connection
The investigation has also raised questions about Kropyva's relationship with Kravchenko.
During a court hearing, a SAPO prosecutor said Kropyva may have coordinated renovation work at a house used by the prosecutor general in Kozyn, an affluent community outside Kyiv.
Bihus.Info reported that the roughly 300-square-meter house is officially owned by a 73-year-old woman and does not appear in Kravchenko's asset declaration.
Kravchenko said he rents the property and that it required additional work and equipment installation, explaining that conversations about it concerned contractors, a security system and household appliances.
He has rejected allegations that he received money from illegal call centers.
Earlier on Sept. 7, before announcing his resignation, Kravchenko told reporters that he did not intend to step down voluntarily but would do so if asked by Zelenskyy, parliament or his colleagues.
Ukrainska Pravda later reported, citing a political source, that Zelenskyy met Kravchenko and ruling Servant of the People parliamentary faction leader Davyd Arakhamia that day to discuss whether Kravchenko would remain in office.
Hours later, the prosecutor general announced his resignation.
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