In Ukraine, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO) have been publishing audio recordings from their investigation "Carthage" against companies called "call centers" for several weeks. Behind this innocuous name, in fact, lies a large-scale criminal activity - it is about corruption and abuse of power. The scandal, which has already led to the resignation of Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko, could turn out to be one of the biggest in Ukraine's history, writes German public broadcaster ARD.
The fraud scheme works like this: Mostly young employees of these companies, posing as bank employees, call people in order to divert money from their accounts.
60,000 employees work in illegal companies
According to data from the non-governmental organization “Global Initiative against Transnational Organized Crime“, there are about 1,000 such “call centers“ throughout Ukraine. They are spread across the country, employ about 60,000 people, and each such company generates an average of about one million US dollars in illegal income per month, according to the organization's data.
Ukrainian anti-corruption authorities suspect that senior officials from the Prosecutor General's Office are directly involved in these activities, and in this regard they speak of a "criminal organization". A senior official, who is called "Chancellor" in the audio recordings, has already been detained.
It seems that the former Prosecutor General of Ukraine, Ruslan Kravchenko, is also involved. The leader of the group, nicknamed "Boss", is also called "Andrievich" - the surname of Kravchenko's father. In addition, there are indications that the "Boss" previously worked in the tax service - as well as Kravchenko. A third indicator: the aforementioned “chancellor“ also provided personal services to Kravchenko, such as organizing the renovation of his house, ARD also points out.
The Prosecutor General resigned
According to an investigation by the online publication “Ukrainska Pravda“, employees of the Prosecutor General's Office received monthly bribes from the “call centers“ in question, to which they provided protection from criminal prosecution. The publication's approximate calculations indicate that if such an umbrella was stretched over about 100 such companies, then they transferred amounts of about 700,000 US dollars per month.
The previous Prosecutor General, Kravchenko, has since resigned, but denies any involvement in illegal transactions. According to observers, the scandal probably affects other parts of the state administration, writes ARD and in this regard quotes opposition MP Andriy Osadchuk: “I am convinced that other law enforcement agencies knew about this, including municipal authorities“.
Scandal casts shadow on President Zelensky
There are suggestions that Kravchenko's resignation was requested personally by President Volodymyr Zelensky. However, a shadow falls on the head of state, since it was Zelensky who proposed the 36-year-old Kravchenko for prosecutor general last year. Even then, observers warned that in the past he had failed in competitions for higher positions, for example, in the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office or for the head of the Anti-Corruption Service.
In addition, last year Zelensky signed a law that was supposed to give Kravchenko even more power, as he was supposed to de facto subordinate the anti-corruption bodies to the Prosecutor General. Observers do not rule out that Kravchenko himself initiated the law, which was first passed and then withdrawn after mass street protests, ARD recalls.
Shock for society
The new revelations are a shock to society - especially against the backdrop of Russia's aggressive war, commented investigative journalist Mykhailo Tkach from “Ukrainska Pravda“: “While some citizens defend the country and die, others, occupying high positions, steal or abuse their power“, he said, quoted by ARD.
Nevertheless, the scandal shows that anti-corruption bodies in Ukraine are working more effectively than ever. This is a “historical breakthrough in the fight against corruption in our country”, Tkach believes.
Activists in the fight against corruption insist that the selection and election of the Prosecutor General in the future should take place in a transparent procedure. Moreover, Ukraine has made such a commitment as part of its EU accession process, recalls in this regard the chairman of the non-governmental organization “Anti-Corruption Center” Vitaly Shabunin, quoted by ARD.
Author: Florian Kellermann (ARD)