Guž demands dismissal of police and prosecutor leaders in Volyn over Lutsk call center

People's Deputy Ihor Guzh called for dismissing Oleksandr Slipchuk, head of the Main Department of the National Police in Volyn region, and Maksym Rohovyenko, head of the Volyn regional prosecutor's office, over possible shielding of call centers in Lutsk. The lawmaker spoke from the Verkhovna Rada rostrum on 15 September.

The statement by Guzh was prompted by the exposure on 8 in Lutsk’s center of a fraudulent call center. According to the National Police, about 60 operators worked there, who under the guise of financial analysts and brokers offered Ukrainian citizens and EU residents investments in cryptocurrency, securities, and currency markets. Law enforcement said that the office’s monthly income could reach about $500 thousand, and during searches they seized equipment and property valued at about 10 million hryvnias.

According to Guzh, the call center was located approximately 50 meters from the building of the Local police headquarters in Volyn and 150 meters from the regional prosecutor’s office. The deputy questioned whether the leaders of these agencies could be unaware of the operation of such an office.

Separately Guzh linked the situation to the NABU investigation “Carthage.” Materials released in the case feature Danilo Slipchuk – the son of the Volyn police chief Oleksiy Slipchuk. According to the inquiry, he worked at the Office of the Prosecutor General and, under the alias “Flash,” checked call center addresses, collected information about them, and figured in discussions about money. At the same time, Oleksiy Slipchuk himself is not a suspect in this case.

Guzh urged NABU to check whether there is a direct link between the ‘Carthage’ defendants, the Lutsk call center case, and the leaders of local law enforcement. He also stated that Slipchuk and Rohovyenko, in his view, should be dismissed.

Maksym Rohovyenko heads the Volyn regional prosecutor's office, and Oleksiy Slipchuk leads the Main Department of the National Police in the region. Both leaders participated in joint coordination meetings of Volyn law enforcement.

Currently there are no court-established facts tying Rohovyenko or Slipchuk to shielding the Lutsk call center. Guzh specifically urged investigators to check for a possible link among these facts.

We reported: NABU and SAP are conducting the ‘Carthage’ operation against fraudulent call centers. The Office of the Prosecutor General stated it is checking possible involvement of its employee.