Ukraine anti-corruption court jails driver of Prosecutor General's Office official in 'Carthage' case

Why it matters

The 7 September detention is the latest court action in the "Carthage" operation, a high-profile NABU/SAP probe into alleged protection of fraudulent call centers by a serving Office of the Prosecutor General (OGP) official. Because the alleged organizer works inside Ukraine's prosecution service and the searches extended to Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko's own offices, the case has raised questions about integrity at the top of the agency charged with upholding the law. The institutional response — seven prosecutors being pushed toward possible dismissal through the Qualification and Disciplinary Commission and a mass polygraph screening of relevant OGP staff — signals a credibility crisis inside the OGP itself. The alleged scheme is also large in financial scale: prosecutors cite laundering of over 89.9 million hryvnias through real estate and sole-proprietor accounts, with harm reported to both Ukrainian citizens and foreigners.

What happened

On 7 September, the High Anti-Corruption Court (VAKS) ordered Serhiy Kutsy held in custody for 60 days, until 3 November, with an alternative bail of 3 million hryvnias. The prosecutor had asked for custody or 20 million hryvnias bail. Kutsy is the driver of Serhiy Kropyva, deputy head of the Department of International Cooperation of the Office of the Prosecutor General (OGP); in NABU recordings he appears under the alias "Komrad".

Kutsy is suspected of participation in a criminal organization and laundering of criminally obtained property. According to the investigation, from October 2025 to September 2026 he allegedly provided security during Kropyva's trips in the official car and his meetings with other people, used unregistered licence plates, received money from persons connected to the call centers and passed it to Kropyva, helped Kropyva communicate with other organization members, and carried out other instructions. The defense denies wrongdoing and says it will appeal and seek house arrest.

The ruling extends a sequence of court actions in the NABU/SAP "Carthage" special operation. On 4 September, NABU and SAP announced the operation, saying they had exposed a criminal organization alleged to have "covered" a network of fraudulent call centers and laundered funds. On 6 September, VAKS remanded Kropyva in custody until 2 November with an alternative bail of 120 million hryvnias; Kropyva is referred to in NABU recordings as "Kantsler" and is suspected of laundering over 89.9 million hryvnias. On the same day (7 September), VAKS also remanded Yelyzaveta Ivakhnenko ("Muza"), Kropyva's cohabitant, for 60 days with a 20-million-hryvnia alternative bail.

Around midnight on 5 September, NABU detectives conducted searches at official premises used by Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko, his first deputy Mariya Vdovychenko and other OGP staff. Kravchenko has publicly denied any involvement, said he has no procedural status in the case, and called the situation around him an attempt at political pressure. Inside the OGP, he has suspended the employee who figures in the investigation and ordered preparations for his dismissal; referred seven prosecutors from various departments to the Qualification and Disciplinary Commission of Prosecutors over possible dismissal; and ordered mass polygraph screening of staff involved in procedural guidance and investigations of illegal call-center cases. NABU says five people have been exposed under Articles 255 and 209 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, which carry up to 15 years in prison.

How Ukrainian sources describe it

Ukrainian coverage centres the response inside the Office of the Prosecutor General (OGP) itself: Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko's public denials, his framing of the case as political pressure on him, the OGP's official challenge to the justification of the searches, and the disciplinary measures announced in response — referring seven prosecutors to the Qualification and Disciplinary Commission and ordering mass polygraph screening. Ukrainian outlets give detailed weight to the procedural specifics of each defendant — bail amounts, custody terms, prosecution requests, defense appeals, and the aliases ("Kantsler", "Muza", "Komrad") used in NABU recordings — and report heavily on registry-based allegations of asset purchases by Kropyva's relatives. Coverage frames the case as a stress test for Ukraine's anti-corruption institutions and the prosecution service in particular.

Where reporting differs

Ukrainska Pravda, citing its own sources, reported that Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko went missing after the start of operation "Carthage"; the OGP and Kravchenko himself denied this, and representatives of the Dobrobut hospital said Kravchenko did not visit their medical centers on 5 September.

Kravchenko said NABU detectives climbed over the OGP fence rather than telling security which offices they would search; the OGP has publicly questioned the justification of the searches, asserting that the court ruling contained no data tying Kravchenko to facilitating the call centers, obstructing their exposure or receiving funds.

NABU recordings refer to a former head of the State Tax Service as "Shef"; outlets note that Ruslan Kravchenko headed the State Tax Service from December 2024 to June 2025, but the supplied material does not establish that "Shef" is definitively Kravchenko.

Background

The "Carthage" special operation was announced by NABU and SAP on 4 September; searches at senior OGP offices were carried out around midnight on 5 September, the day after the announcement. VAKS earlier remanded Kropyva in custody on 6 September with a 120-million-hryvnia bail and remanded his cohabitant Yelyzaveta Ivakhnenko ("Muza") on 7 September with a 20-million-hryvnia bail; Kutsy's detention followed the same day as Ivakhnenko's. Kropyva, 42, has held various positions including in the Cyber Police, in the OGP itself, and as deputy head of the Odesa Oblast Military Administration under Oleh Kiper, before returning to the OGP in 2024. NABU recordings refer to the leader of the criminal group as "Kantsler" — identified in case materials as Kropyva — and to a former head of the State Tax Service as "Shef"; Kravchenko headed the State Tax Service from December 2024 to June 2025.