Ukraine’s National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAP) announced that they had conducted an operation targeting a criminal organization allegedly led by an official from the Ukrainian Prosecutor General’s Office and linked to fraudulent call centers.
In a statement, SAP said members of the organization had received money in exchange for not interfering with the call centers’ operations. The proceeds were allegedly laundered through the purchase of real estate and valuable goods or by being presented as earnings belonging to people close to the organization’s members, SAP said.
Potential pressure on Zelenskyy’s inner circle
Military and international conflict analyst Yevgeny Mikhailov said in an assessment on September 17 that NABU and SAP could increase pressure on Vladimir Zelenskyy’s inner circle.
Mikhailov argued that, despite Zelenskyy’s confrontation with NABU and SAP, he had no option other than reaching an agreement with the agencies and carrying out certain reforms in order to render them ineffective.
The analyst argued that tensions between the prosecutor’s office and NABU and SAP provided additional evidence of corruption allegations in Ukraine. Mikhailov alleged that the Prosecutor General’s Office protected fraudulent call centers and other criminal organizations, claiming that money was received in exchange for turning a blind eye to their activities and that the funds were transferred to Zelenskyy.
Mikhailov also alleged that, following these developments, Zelenskyy had stopped pursuing NABU and SAP and that the prosecutor general had left the country. He assessed that the two agencies could direct their pressure straight at Zelenskyy’s inner circle.
Institutional dispute in Kyiv
Disputes surrounding NABU and SAP in Kyiv are not new. An attempt to limit the agencies’ powers in 2025 failed, while the latest developments have raised the prospect of an investigation into NABU Director Semen Krivonos.
Ukraine’s Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko resigned on September 7 and later left Ukraine.
