Ukraine’s anti-corruption agencies uncover alleged protection racket during Operation Carthage
Ukraine’s National Anti-Corruption Bureau and Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office disclosed new findings in Operation Carthage alleging that a criminal organization operated fraudulent call centers and other illegal businesses with protection from senior law-enforcement officials. Five people were notified of suspicion in the second stage, while several officials were detained or placed under arrest. The agencies said the published materials represent only the tip of the iceberg.
Key points
- NABU and SAPO published the new findings on 4 November 2026.
- The organization allegedly involved at least 12 people; five participants were notified of suspicion.
- Investigators say participants coordinated at least 52 fraudulent call centers.
- The group allegedly paid about $7,000 per month per call center for protection.
- NABU detained SBU General Serhii Duk on 4 November and arrested him with bail set at 65 million hryvnias.
- The court imposed a 60-day detention on National Police official Volodymyr Tsenov, with bail of 15 million hryvnias, and arrested Vitalii Rybalko and Oleksandr Demianchuk without bail.
- The suspected network is accused of fraud, drug trafficking, counterfeit cigarette production and forged currency; the investigation remains ongoing.
Why it matters
The allegations point to a possible protection racket reaching into the Security Service of Ukraine, the National Police and the Prosecutor General’s Office. Investigators say the network coordinated at least 52 fraudulent call centers and typically paid $7,000 per month for each center’s protection. The case also links alleged fraud and other illegal businesses to violence against opponents, while several senior officials have faced detention, arrest or dismissal.
What happened
On 4 November 2026, NABU and the Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office published materials concerning a new criminal organization identified during Operation Carthage. Five participants were notified of suspicion, although investigators said the organization involved at least 12 people. According to the investigation, its members coordinated at least 52 call centers and usually paid law-enforcement officials $7,000 per month per center for protection.
NABU detectives detained former SBU General Serhii Duk at about 13:00 on 4 November. National Police official Volodymyr Tsenov, National Police official Oleksandr Demianchuk and boxing club founder Vitalii Rybalko were also detained. On 5 November, the Higher Anti-Corruption Court placed Tsenov under arrest for 60 days with the option of posting 15 million hryvnias as bail, and arrested Rybalko without bail. Duk was arrested with bail set at 65 million hryvnias, while Demianchuk was arrested without the option of bail.
SBU chief Oleksandr Poklad dismissed two senior SBU officials who became figures in the investigation, and the National Police suspended officers who were subject to procedural action by NABU. The investigation also covers alleged attacks, kidnapping and torture of people who opposed the illegal business. Following the alleged resistance during Duk’s search, NABU opened a criminal proceeding that the State Bureau of Investigation is handling.
How Ukrainian sources describe it
Ukrainian coverage emphasizes that the second-stage disclosures are only the tip of a larger alleged corruption network and that the investigation remains active. Reports focus on the exchange of money and state protection between organized crime and corrupt law-enforcement officials, as well as the scale of the call-center scheme, alleged payments for protection, violence against opponents and institutional consequences such as arrests and dismissals. Abakumov frames the case as a threat to state institutions and argues that fighting corruption during the war is necessary for the state’s survival.
Where reporting differs
Ukrainian reports vary in how they spell the detained former SBU general’s name, using Serhii Duk, Serhii Duka or Сергій Дук. The underlying facts and detention described in the reports are consistent.
Background
Operation Carthage began with an earlier stage in which prosecutors alleged that a group in the Prosecutor General’s Office systematically took bribes from fraudulent call centers and laundered the proceeds. Investigators said Serhii Kropyva created that group in mid-2025 by recruiting serving prosecutors and close unofficial associates. Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko resigned after Prosecutor General’s Office employees were detained, and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy dismissed him on 15 September. The second stage focused on a separate criminal organization with at least 12 alleged participants.