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Automatically translated version. May contain inaccuracies compared to the original.
Two weeks after the start of NABU and SAP’s “Carthage” operation, one of the key suspects in this case nicknamed “Chancellor,” Deputy Head of the Department of International-Legal Cooperation of the Office of the Prosecutor General (OGP) Serhiy Kropyva, remains in his post. Kropyva has not even been suspended, despite the court placing him in custody with bail of 120 million UAH.
This is stated in the Office of the Prosecutor General’s response to a request from the Anti-Corruption Center (CPC).
As of 17 September, the “Chancellor” has not only not been dismissed from his position but has not even been formally suspended. In particular, the Office of the Prosecutor General reported that an order to suspend or dismiss Kropyva “was not registered.”
The CPC noted that this contradicts a public statement by then-Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko, who, incidentally, also appeared on NABU’s tapes, after which he fled the country and announced that he had filed charges against Bureau Director Semen Kryvonos. Kravchenko already, on 6 September, claimed that the OGP employee appearing on the recordings had been suspended from his position. He also said at the time that he had instructed that a decision to dismiss the relevant employee be prepared.
Some steps regarding Kropyva have nevertheless been taken. In particular, the OGP response indicated that on 8 September the head of the General Inspectorate of the Office of the Prosecutor General sent a disciplinary complaint about the “Chancellor” to the Qualification and Disciplinary Commission of Prosecutors. That submission separately raised the issue of Kropyva’s suspension. And on 10 September the commission opened disciplinary proceedings.
But, as the CPC noted, the agenda for the commission’s next meeting is scheduled for 23 September, yet the agenda does not include the issue regarding Kropyva. The Anti-Corruption Center added that legislation provides for a procedure to suspend a prosecutor while a disciplinary proceeding is open against them. In particular, a commission member must file the appropriate motion, which should be considered at the commission’s next meeting.
Serhiy Kutsyi — Kropyva’s driver, who appears on NABU and SAP recordings under the nickname “Comrade” — also remains employed. He is also a suspect in the case. The OGP’s response to the CPC’s request states that Kutsyi has worked in the Office of the Prosecutor General since August 2025 as a driver in the transport department. As of 17 September, an order to dismiss him also had not been registered.
“Thus, two weeks after the large-scale NABU and SAP operation, Kropyva’s detention and the imposition of his preventive measure, he formally continues to hold a managerial position in the Office of the Prosecutor General. The decision to suspend him, which the then-OGP leadership publicly announced, according to the office’s official response, was never issued,” the CPC said.
Reminder:
On 4 September, NABU and SAP reported that within the framework of the special operation “Carthage” they uncovered the activities of a criminal organization whose members systematically received illicit profits from fraudulent call centers and laundered millions. The organizer of the scheme turned out to be Deputy Head of the Department of International-Legal Cooperation of the OGP Serhiy Kropyva.
On 5 September the Office of the Prosecutor General confirmed that NABU detectives conducted investigative actions at night in the official premises used by Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko, his first deputy Mariya Vdovychenko, as well as other employees and structural units of the OGP.
NABU detectives detained the main suspect in the “Carthage” operation, Serhiy Kropyva, in Lviv. Most likely, he was heading to the border and attempting to leave Ukraine.
On 6 September, the High Anti-Corruption Court (HACC) remanded Deputy Head of the Department of International Cooperation of the Office of the Prosecutor General Serhiy Kropyva — who appears under the nickname “Chancellor” on the tapes released following the NABU and SAP investigation — in custody until 2 November with the possibility of posting bail of 120 million UAH.
Document: PDF proof of the original version of the news item "Попри заяву Кравченка, фігурант операції «Карфаген» Кропива досі не звільнений і навіть не відсторонений у ОГП – ЦПК – Центр журналістських розслідува...". It records the publication content at the moment of the first scan, the preservation date and the source: DosieNews.Info.
