Ukrainian Domestic — 2026-09-05

NABU Raids Prosecutor General Office Over Criminal Network Running Scam Call Centers

BLUFNABU will likely file a formal notice of suspicion against Kropyva by October 5, but sustaining the case requires the bureau to investigate the very office that oversees Ukrainian prosecutorial cooperation with Western partners.

NABU and SAPO announced a special operation on September 4 against a criminal organization allegedly led by a Prosecutor General's Office official accused of protecting a network of fraudulent call centers and laundering assets 12. A law enforcement source told the Kyiv Independent that NABU detained Serhiy Kropyva, deputy head of the office's international legal cooperation department 3. Ukrainska Pravda, citing its own sources, reported that investigators also searched the offices of Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko, his deputy Maria Vdovychenko, and Odesa Oblast Governor Oleh Kiper, though a PGO spokesperson denied Kravchenko's office was searched 3. The Prosecutor General's Office said the employee under investigation would be suspended during the pretrial probe and pledged full cooperation with anti-corruption authorities 34.

Analysis
NABU and SAPO likely will file a formal notice of suspicion against Kropyva by October 5, though converting today's raid into an uncontested charge will test the bureau's independence from the office under investigation. Moderate confidence reflects a single primary reporting thread that other outlets echo rather than independently verify, leaving the scope of today's searches unconfirmed. The Prosecutor General's Office's immediate denial that Kravchenko's own office was searched shows the office contesting the operation's reach before any charge is filed. Suspending Kropyva pending trial lets the office signal cooperation without conceding the underlying allegations, a posture it can maintain regardless of whether NABU meets the charging window.

6 sources