Ukraine's National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office announced on November 4 that they had uncovered an alleged criminal organization. Investigators suspect that senior serving officials from the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), the police and the Prosecutor General's Office took bribes to protect fraudulent call centers and other illegal operations.
Reuters reported that the investigation involved dozens of call centers said to employ around 2,700 people. NABU believes the organization had at least 12 members, including law enforcement personnel. It also described alleged drug trafficking, illegal production of cigarettes and counterfeit currency, assaults, abductions and bodily harm.
NABU alleges that the organizer, a man with multiple prior convictions, recruited serving officials and people from criminal circles. NABU says those connections enabled the group to profit from illegal activities.
The SBU said it cooperated during searches. The National Police said some personnel had been suspended pending checks and urged against premature conclusions. The Prosecutor General's Office offered assistance and said it had previously been unaware of the alleged operation.
Former prosecutor general Ruslan Kravchenko denied reports implicating him and described the proceedings as politically motivated. He had not been charged in connection with this case at the time of his comments.