Automatically translated version. May contain inaccuracies compared to the original.
No one from the Lviv prosecution met with Kropyva either.
The Lviv Regional Prosecutor’s Office denied reports that its head, Mykola Meret, met with the suspect in the “Carthage” case, former Deputy Head of the International Cooperation Department of the Office of the Prosecutor General, Serhiy Kropyva, and a former deputy.
This was reported by the office in response to a request from the Schemes project.
Earlier in court, Kropyva insisted that NABU detained him in Lviv while he was on an official business trip, and that he had allegedly met with the head of the regional prosecutor’s office and other officials. At the same time, when asked to name Meret’s first name and patronymic, the former official admitted he did not remember them. A SAP prosecutor immediately disputed that account, saying that, according to the investigation’s information, the official was simply vacationing in the city with his civilian wife.
The Lviv Regional Prosecutor’s Office confirmed that its head was at his workplace, had no meetings or phone calls with Kropyva, and that there are no records of his contacts with other employees of the institution.
What is known about operation “Carthage”
NABU and SAP 4 September announced they had conducted a special operation to expose a criminal organization “headed by an official of the Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine.”
The anti-corruption agencies said that participants in the organization may have been involved in “protecting” a network of fraudulent call centers and in legalizing assets.
The Office of the Prosecutor General responded to the possible involvement of one of its employees in work with fraudulent call centers, saying that all circumstances must be established by the investigation.
The Prosecutor General denied his involvement in the scheme and ordered polygraph testing for all prosecutors investigating cases about illegal call centers. Kravchenko also submitted his resignation.
In NABU’s video, the organizer appears — an OPG official referred to as the “Chancellor.” Also shown are “Boss,” “Muse,” and other participants in the scheme. Overall, NABU reported uncovering five people in the case under Art. 255 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (creation and leadership of a criminal organization, as well as participation in it) and Art. 209 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (legalization (laundering) of assets).
6 September the court remanded OPG employee Serhiy Kropyva in custody. 8 September a preventive measure was chosen for the “Chancellor’s” trusted associate.
Subsequently, Maria Vdovychenko, the first deputy of former Prosecutor General Kravchenko, resigned from her position.
15 September the Verkhovna Rada supported Kravchenko’s dismissal from his post. Before that, he left the country overnight.
16 September the Appeals Chamber of the High Anti-Corruption Court left Kropyva’s preventive measure unchanged — he will remain in custody with the alternative of posting 120 million UAH bail.
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