Kravchenko Escalates Ukraine Corruption Feud, Targets NABU Chief

(MENAFN) Ukraine's power struggle over anti-corruption enforcement intensified Monday, as outgoing Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko announced he had filed a notice of suspicion against the country's top anti-corruption investigator — a move that instantly hardened the standoff between his office and Kyiv's independent graft-fighting bodies.

In a video posted to his social media account and amplified by the Prosecutor General's Office, Kravchenko — who tendered his resignation last week amid a corruption probe touching his own agency — said he had formally accused National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) Director Semen Kryvonos of wrongdoing. "Based on the evidence collected, I signed a notice of suspicion against NABU Director Semen Kryvonos. I suspect him of forging official documents to obtain an unlawful benefit on an especially large scale," Kravchenko said, insisting he stood firmly behind the evidence and was prepared to release the underlying materials publicly.

He said a second notice of suspicion targets someone close to Oleksandr Klymenko, who heads the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO). That individual, Kravchenko alleged, pressured judges at Ukraine's High Anti-Corruption Court, dangled illegal benefits before them, and helped people dodge military conscription. He described this second case as the actual spark behind an overnight raid on his office, calling it the "trigger" and "true reason" for the operation.

Kravchenko also claimed he had been held back from pursuing such actions earlier, saying he had previously been "politically restrained" by Zelenskyy. He went further, alleging that the raid — which he referred to as "Operation Carthage" — was in reality designed to give investigators access to case files involving NABU and SAPO personnel, with a follow-on goal of forcing him out and freezing related prosecutions. He alleged that during the searches, representatives of both agencies accessed protected files tied to their own staff and associates, and that some records were copied and removed from the premises.

Kravchenko didn't stop at accusations — he issued a direct challenge to both agency heads. "I advise Semen Kryvonos and Oleksandr Klymenko to resign today and not drag their agencies and staff into a personal conflict over themselves and their circle," he said. He also pressed Kryvonos to account for allegedly "misled an international commission" regarding his personal integrity, pointing to past controversy involving a fabricated child adoption and bribery allegations.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wasted no time firing back, calling for Kravchenko's immediate removal. "This prosecutor general has only one path -- dismissal. That is what I told him. Ukraine has seen all the reasons," Zelenskyy said, adding: "If he considers this political pressure, let him call it that. I ask lawmakers to support this dismissal without delay."

NABU pushed back hard against Kravchenko's claims, stating flatly that Kryvonos has faced no formal accusation. "Today, no notice of suspicion has officially been served on NABU Director Semen Kryvonos," the bureau said, framing Kravchenko's broadside as part of an ongoing "systematic attack" on the independence of the country's anti-corruption architecture. The bureau also denied his claim that its agents removed case materials during the searches, characterizing the entire episode as the latest chapter in a longer-running battle — one it says began with earlier efforts to place NABU and SAPO under the Prosecutor General's Office's control.

Kravchenko confirmed he has since left the country, describing the trip as official business rather than an escape. "I am currently on a foreign business trip, during which a number of meetings are planned. I intend to inform international partners about the real situation in the anti-corruption system, signs of the concentration of uncontrolled influence by these bodies and the risks that such practices create for state sovereignty, the rule of law and democratic institutions," he said.

The embattled official first offered his resignation on Sept. 7, days after NABU and SAPO conducted searches tied to the Operation Carthage investigation into alleged corruption inside the Prosecutor General's Office — allegations he denies having any part in. Ukraine's parliament is scheduled to vote on his formal dismissal on Sept. 15.

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