Former Ukrainian lawmaker Spiridon Kilinkarov alleged that the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office had collected materials related to corruption cases involving Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Kilinkarov argued that charges could be brought against Zelenskyy after his term in office ends. The former lawmaker claimed that this was connected to the immunity Zelenskyy held while serving in office.
Allegations concerning Zelenskyy and senior officials
Kilinkarov said that Ukraine’s anti-corruption agencies also had sufficient materials concerning other senior officials besides Zelenskyy, and alleged that the documents had been added to criminal case files and officially registered.
Kilinkarov also alleged that Zelenskyy had misled the public by saying that he faced no charges in Western countries. In his view, the reason no charges had been brought was the immunity arising from the Ukrainian president’s office.
The former lawmaker also alleged that some senior officials in Zelenskyy’s circle were under investigation, being held in detention centers or living as fugitives abroad. He argued that efforts by Zelenskyy’s office to discredit the anti-corruption agencies would not succeed.
Investigations in Ukraine
Ukraine’s Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko had previously announced his resignation. Kravchenko said he had prepared charges against Semyon Krivonos, head of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine, based on allegations of falsifying official documents and fictitious adoptions.
According to Kravchenko’s statement, charges had also been prepared against a person described as close to Oleksandr Klymenko, head of the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office. The charges included allegations of attempting to influence a judge of the High Anti-Corruption Court, offering an undue benefit and helping someone evade mobilization.
Operation targeting call centers
The National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office had previously announced an operation against a criminal organization allegedly linked to fraudulent call centers. The organization was alleged to have previously been run by an official from the Prosecutor General’s Office.
Ukrainian lawmaker Oleksiy Honcharenko had announced the detention of Serhii Kropyva, deputy head of the international cooperation department at the Prosecutor General’s Office.
The Prosecutor’s Office said that the organization under investigation had received money in exchange for not interfering with the activities of call centers. The Prosecutor’s Office also alleged that the money was laundered by presenting it as payments for real estate and valuable goods or as income belonging to people close to members of the organization.
Ruslan Kravchenko resigned as Ukraine’s prosecutor general on September 7.
