SAPO has confirmed that safe containing cash is linked to Operation ’Carthage’, but it was not found at OGP

The Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office stated that the photograph of a safe containing money, released by NABU, relates to the ‘Carthage’ special operation, although the safe itself was not found on the premises of the Office of the Prosecutor General.

Mykola Karas, a prosecutor with the Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office, stated this during the court hearing on the imposition of a preventive measure against Yelyzaveta Ivakhnenko (Muz), a defendant in the case, according to Censor.NET.

Clarification from the prosecutor

"The official position of the NABU and the SAPO is that the published photo of the safe relates to the ‘Carthage’ special operation," said Karas.

According to the prosecutor, the NABU and the SAPO did not state that the money from the safe had been found specifically at the Office of the Prosecutor General. Karas also emphasised that the origin of the funds would not be disclosed for the time being, as the pre-trial investigation is ongoing.

The use of material evidence from one criminal case to demonstrate the outcome of another, without a proper explanation, could distort the true circumstances of the case and undermine public confidence in the entire anti-corruption system, they added.

An alternative version of the defence

The day before, the lawyer for another defendant in the case, Serhii Kropyva — Vitalii Serdiuk stated — that the photograph of the safe, which had been circulated online, was allegedly taken during investigative proceedings in another criminal case relating to land fraud.

Results of the searches at the OGP

A prosecutor from the Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO) also spoke about the results of the searches carried out at the Office of the Prosecutor General itself. According to him, detectives seized 50,000 dollars from the desk of Aydin Khudiev, the head of one of the departments at the Office of the Prosecutor General. In addition, he was found to be using an Audi Q8, which, according to the investigation, is not commensurate with his level of income.

During a search of his first deputy’s premises, jewellery and an expensive watch were also found.

What led up to it?

As a reminder, earlier "Ukrainska Pravda", citing its own sources, reported that the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO) were allegedly carrying out searches at the offices of Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko, his deputy Mariia Vdovichenko, and the head of the Odesa Regional Military Administration, Oleh Kiper.
On 4 September, the NABU and the SAPO announced that there was likely to be ‘protection’ within the Office of the Prosecutor General (OPG) for a network of so-called call centres that swindle people out of their money.
According to media reports, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO) have detained Serhii Kropyva, deputy head of the Department of International Legal Cooperation at the General Prosecutor’s Office.
Prior to his current role at the OGP, Kropiva served as Deputy Head of the Odesa Regional Military Administration, working alongside Oleh Kiper.

Against this backdrop, NABU announced a new operation called ‘Carthage’.
The Office of the Prosecutor General has stated that it will suspend an employee who is under investigation for possible involvement in ‘providing protection for a network’ of fraudulent call centres and the laundering of assets.
According to the latest information, NABU and the SAPO have uncovered a criminal organisation whose members systematically received illicit gains from fraudulent call centres and laundered millions. The organiser of the scheme turned out to be one of the heads of a department within the Office of the Prosecutor General.
Records relating to a criminal group of OGP employees were also published.
Later, the Office of the Prosecutor General confirmed that searches had been carried out at the homes of Prosecutor General Kravchenko and his deputy.
The High Anti-Corruption Court imposed a preventive measure on Kropyva, an official at the State Guard Service.
On 7 September, Ivakhnenko was remanded in custody with bail set at 20 million hryvnias.