NABU and SAP expose criminal organization inside Ukraine's Prosecutor General's Office in 'Operation Carthage'
Ukraine's National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAP) announced the exposure of a criminal organization led by a senior official of the Office of the Prosecutor General (OPG). The group allegedly received bribes from fraudulent call centers in exchange for non-interference and laundered tens of millions of hryvnia through real estate and bank accounts. Five participants have been identified so far, and the case has been opened under articles covering criminal organizations and money laundering.
Key points
- NABU and SAP publicly detailed 'Operation Carthage' on September 5, 2026.
- The organization was allegedly created and led in mid-2025 by an OPG official who was appointed to a leadership position in August 2025.
- Participants systematically took bribes to protect fraudulent call centers that defrauded Ukrainian and foreign citizens.
- More than UAH 20 million was spent on real estate, jewelry, and other valuables.
- The organizer re-registered assets worth over UAH 12 million, including real estate in an apartment complex near the Carpathians, onto third parties.
- Over UAH 10 million was placed on bank accounts of relatives, disguised as income from entrepreneurial activity.
- Five participants have been exposed; the case is qualified under Articles 255 and 209 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, carrying up to 15 years' imprisonment.
Why it matters
The case implicates a senior official inside the Office of the Prosecutor General, the body responsible for investigating corruption and organized crime. It documents systematic 'roofing' (protection racket activity) of fraudulent call centers that harmed both Ukrainian and foreign citizens, with tens of millions of hryvnia laundered through real estate and bank accounts. Convictions under Articles 255 and 209 of the Criminal Code carry sentences of up to 15 years' imprisonment. NABU also published recorded conversations between suspects, in which the organizer is referred to by the alias 'Канцлер' (Chancellor).
What happened
On September 5, 2026, NABU and SAP publicly detailed 'Operation Carthage,' an investigation into a criminal organization led by a senior official of a structural unit of the Office of the Prosecutor General. According to investigators, the official created and led the group starting in mid-2025 and was appointed to his leadership position in August 2025. The organization included current prosecutors' office employees and individuals close to the organizer.
Participants allegedly systematically received bribes from fraudulent call centers in exchange for not interfering with their operations. These call centers defrauded citizens of Ukraine and foreign nationals. The proceeds were laundered through several schemes: more than UAH 20 million was spent on real estate, jewelry, and other valuable movable property; the organizer re-registered assets with a minimum market value exceeding UAH 12 million onto third parties, including real estate in a popular apartment complex near the Carpathians; and over UAH 10 million was placed on bank accounts of relatives under the guise of income from entrepreneurial activity.
Five people have been identified as participants. The case is preliminarily qualified under Article 255 (creation, leadership of, and participation in a criminal organization) and Article 209 (laundering of criminally obtained property) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. Convicted offenders under these articles face up to 15 years' imprisonment. Investigative actions are ongoing, and other possible participants are being identified.
NABU also published audio and video recordings of conversations among the participants, in which the organizer is referred to by the alias 'Канцлер' (Chancellor) and other suspects as 'Шеф' (Boss) and 'Муза' (Muse). The OPG stated it would cooperate with anti-corruption bodies and suspend the employee under investigation during the pre-trial investigation.
How Ukrainian sources describe it
All sources cited in this story are Ukrainian. They rely heavily on NABU and SAP communications, as well as inside sources at Ukrainska Pravda, to detail the role of the OPG official and the detained deputy department head. Ukrainian headlines uniformly use the operation's codename 'Карфаген' and emphasize the 'roofing' of call centers and the laundering of millions of hryvnia. Sources carry the OPG's denial that searches were conducted directly at Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko alongside source-based reports that such searches took place.
Where reporting differs
Sources differ on the exact position of the detained person: Ukrainska Pravda sources identified him as deputy head of the OPG Department of International Legal Cooperation, while one source called him head of the OPG cyber department. Sources also reported that NABU and SAP conducted searches at Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko, his deputy Mariya Vdovychenko, and head of Odesa OVA Oleh Kiper; the OPG denied that investigative actions were carried out directly at Kravchenko.
Background
The operation was carried out by NABU (National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine) together with SAP (Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office). According to investigators, the criminal organization was set up in mid-2025 by the OPG official, who is referred to in NABU's recordings by the alias 'Канцлер' (Chancellor) and was reportedly appointed to a leadership role in August 2025. The OGP itself stated it would cooperate with anti-corruption bodies and suspend the employee under investigation.