Ukraine's chief prosecutor resigns over call centre corruption scandal
In his resignation letter, Ruslan Kravchenko denied the allegations against him, saying he did not want his office "to be used as a tool in political confrontation".
Ukraine’s top prosecutor steps down amid call centre corruption probe
Ukraine’s chief prosecutor, Ruslan Kravchenko, has resigned amid corruption accusations tied to illegal call centres in the country.
The move came after Ukrainian anti-corruption investigators searched his offices over the weekend and said they had uncovered a money-laundering operation run by an official in Kravchenko’s office.
In his resignation letter, Kravchenko said he did not want his post to be turned into a “tool for political confrontation”, and pointed back to an earlier post in which he dismissed the allegations as “unsubstantiated”.
Corruption scandals have continued to dog Kyiv throughout the war with Russia, with accusations directed at several figures in President Volodymyr Zelensky’s inner circle.
According to Ukraine’s National Anti-Corruption Bureau (Nabu) and Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (Sap), the network in Kravchenko’s office took money to shield call centres that ran phone scams and “laundered millions in assets”.
Nabu said the funds were then spent on property, jewellery and other valuables.
Kravchenko issued a statement on Sunday evening calling the claims “completely unsubstantiated” and denying any wrongdoing.
He submitted his resignation the following day, thanking Zelensky and the Ukrainian parliament for their “trust”. The Ukrainian president has not yet commented publicly on the resignation.
Even though Ukraine created the two anti-corruption bodies, Nabu and Sap, more than a decade ago, corruption remains a major issue in the country.
In 2025, protests erupted nationwide after Zelensky attempted reforms that would have reduced the independence of Nabu and Sap.
Ukraine’s European partners reacted with alarm, and ambassadors from the G7 warned the move could jeopardise Ukraine’s path towards European Union membership.
Ukraine is an EU candidate country, a status it received on the condition that it made a credible effort to fight corruption.
Zelensky restored the independence of the two anti-corruption bodies after the backlash, but doubts have remained about his commitment to anti-corruption reform.
Last month, Nabu said it had exposed a scheme to divert more than $3m (£2.2m) in Ukrainian currency to cover bail for a former energy minister accused of money laundering.
A senior official in Zelensky’s office who was alleged to be involved was dismissed.
In an interview with the BBC last month, Ukraine’s former defence minister Mykhailo Fedorov said the president should be asked whether he knew about possible corruption among his closest team.
“Let him answer this question... I believe that he’s ready for such questions. It’s his responsibility to tell us all whether he was aware of all that or not... I don’t want to make any assumptions,” he said.
During his time in office, the 35-year-old was credited with leading an anti-corruption push.
Since his dismissal in mid-July, after reportedly falling out with the head of Ukraine’s armed forces, he has been vocal about what he has called a “systemic crisis of governance” in Ukraine.
However, he has stressed that he has no evidence Zelensky is personally involved in corruption.
“In all the time that I worked with him, not a single time have I received from him any task or assignment that would go against law or my sense of integrity,” Federov told the BBC.