Anti-Corruption Court places "Carthage" case suspect Ivakhnenko in custody with 20 million hryvnia bail option
On 7 September 2026, Ukraine's Higher Anti-Corruption Court (VAKS) ordered Yelyzaveta Ivakhnenko, a suspect in NABU's "Operation Carthage" case, held in custody with an alternative bail of 20 million hryvnias. The Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecution (SAP) had requested 50 million. Ivakhnenko, 24, is accused of helping Serhiy Kropyva, a deputy head at the Office of the Prosecutor General, launder proceeds from alleged protection of fraudulent call centres.
Key points
- On 7 September, VAKS placed Yelyzaveta Ivakhnenko in custody with the alternative of posting 20 million hryvnias bail; SAP had requested 50 million.
- Ivakhnenko is 24 years old and is referred to in case materials by the code name "Muza."
- She is suspected under Article 209 of the Criminal Code of laundering criminal proceeds; five suspects have been identified in the case.
- The main suspect is Serhiy Kropyva, deputy head of the OGP's Department of International Cooperation (code name "Chancellor"), placed in custody on 6 September with 120 million hryvnias bail.
- NABU and SAP announced "Operation Carthage" on 4 September, exposing an alleged criminal organization that "roofed" fraudulent call centres and laundered proceeds through real estate and valuables.
- According to NABU recordings, the group received monthly fees of $20,000–$24,000 from call centres it protected.
- Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko denies any involvement; the recordings refer to a "Boss" whose profile commentators tie to him.
Why it matters
The case strikes at the heart of Ukraine's prosecutor's office: investigators allege a criminal organization inside the OGP systematically protected fraudulent call centres and laundered tens of millions of hryvnias in proceeds. Overnight searches at the Prosecutor General's own premises and his summons to parliament to explain the affair have turned an anti-corruption probe into an institutional crisis. The court's decision to set bail well below the prosecution's request illustrates judicial oversight of a politically charged case.
What happened
On 7 September 2026, the Higher Anti-Corruption Court (VAKS) ordered Yelyzaveta Ivakhnenko held in custody with the alternative of posting 20 million hryvnias in bail. SAP prosecutors had requested detention with a 50-million-hryvnia bail. Ivakhnenko, 24, is a suspect in "Operation Carthage," an NABU/SAP investigation announced on 4 September into an alleged criminal organization led by an Office of the Prosecutor General (OGP) official. She is accused under Article 209 of the Criminal Code of laundering criminal proceeds and is described in case materials as the cohabitant of the main suspect, Serhiy Kropyva, deputy head of the OGP's Department of International Cooperation (code-named "Chancellor").
Kropyva was placed in custody on 6 September with an alternative bail of 120 million hryvnias. He is suspected of leading the criminal organization from mid-2025, receiving monthly fees of $20,000–$24,000 from "protected" call centres, and laundering more than 89.9 million hryvnias in proceeds, including through real estate and valuables. Five suspects have been identified under Articles 255 (criminal organization) and 209 (laundering), carrying up to 15 years' imprisonment.
Around midnight on 4–5 September, NABU detectives searched OGP premises used by Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko, First Deputy Prosecutor General Mariya Vdovychenko, and others. Kravchenko denies any involvement and ordered the implicated OGP employee suspended and prepared for dismissal. VAKS also chose a preventive measure in the case for lawyer Oleksandr Dydych, a trusted associate of the group's leader.
How Ukrainian sources describe it
Ukrainian media coverage centres on an institutional crisis at the Office of the Prosecutor General. Reports detail overnight NABU searches at the Prosecutor General's offices, Kravchenko's summons to the Verkhovna Rada law enforcement committee, and questions about the OGP's own integrity. Political scientist Ihor Reiterovich argued in an interview with Radio NV that the OGP has effectively conceded the authenticity of NABU's recordings. Coverage also highlights Ivakhnenko's personal background — a Mercedes-Benz EQE 350, a Pechersk district property in Kyiv, an Odesa apartment in her mother's name, and a former role as deputy dean at the Odesa Law Academy — and notes the prosecution's claim that she intended to become Deputy Minister of Education.
Where reporting differs
Sources disagree on the end date of Ivakhnenko's custody period: some report 2 November 2025, while the investigating judge is quoted as stating 2 November 2026. Ukrainska Pravda, citing sources in political circles, reported that Prosecutor General Kravchenko disappeared after the start of "Carthage"; the Office of the Prosecutor General denied this. SAP prosecutor Mykola Karas said the published photo of an open safe with cash relates to Operation Carthage and was not found in OGP premises; defence lawyer Vitaliy Serdyuk said the photo belongs to a separate "land" criminal proceeding.
Background
Operation "Carthage" was announced by NABU and SAP on 4 September 2025 and targets an alleged criminal organization led by an OGP official that "roofed" fraudulent call centres and laundered proceeds. The main suspect, Serhiy Kropyva, deputy head of the OGP's Department of International Cooperation, was placed in custody on 6 September with 120 million hryvnias bail. Investigators say Ruslan Kravchenko headed the State Tax Service from December 2024 to June 2025; NABU recordings refer to a "Boss" previously heading the tax service, whom commentators tie to Kravchenko. On 2 September 2025, President Zelensky submitted to the Verkhovna Rada two draft laws strengthening liability for organizing fraudulent call centres.