Who are "Criminal" and "Mexican" in NABU recordings?
The case files for the "Carthage" case mention individuals with the nicknames "The Mexican" and "Criminal."
For more details on who this person is, read the article on Censor.NET.
Who is "The Mexican"?
The Mexican mentioned in the NABU recordings is Yehor Burkin (according to Russian documents), also known as Yehor Levchenko (according to Ukrainian documents), a citizen of both Russia and Ukraine.
He is the leader of "Khimprom"—a transnational criminal organization that specializes in the production and distribution of synthetic drugs, as well as in running networks of fraudulent call centers. "Khimprom" is considered a major distributor of mephedrone and alpha-PVP (salt); these drugs effectively turn a person into an aggressive individual with highly atypical and irrational behavior.
In Russia, Burkina/Levchenko was arrested but later released, and he fled to Ukraine. In Ukraine, he is also known for having donated large sums of money to support specific military units. He is currently in hiding in Mexico.
He is also wanted in Ukraine and is a suspect in a number of criminal cases.
In December 2023, Zelenskyy imposed personal sanctions against him.
"In 2023, the SSU announced with great fanfare that it had carried out a series of important special operations against members of the Russian criminal organization "Khimprom," which was operating in collusion with Russian intelligence agencies. At the time, the SBU stated that it had detained 89 drug dealers, imprisoned 34 active members, shut down drug laboratories, and prevented ‘the creation of cross-border channels for the supply of illicit substances to the EU.’"
"Now, three years later, NABU and the SAPO claim: 'The Mexican (Yegor Burkin/Levchenko—Ed.) organized his illegal business in such a way that SBU officers were providing him with protection,'" the article states.
In 2023, the publication "Detector Media" reported that Burkin/Levchenko himself, in an interview with Odessa-based blogger Stas Dombrovsky, claimed that he is a businessman whose reputation competitors are trying to destroy. According to him, he was in Mexico and, to prove his innocence regarding drug trafficking, launched a campaign called "Catch the Dealer"—promising a reward to anyone who apprehended drug couriers or drug manufacturers. A number of leading media outlets reported on this campaign at the time, and Anatoliy Anatolich, Zlata Ognevich, Iryna Fedyshyn, and Natalya Mogilevska participated in promoting it.
Who is "Kriminal"?
According to NABU detectives in the exposé film, after the start of the full-scale invasion, the Russian drug syndicate "Khimprom" strengthened its influence in Ukraine and abroad. Its leader, Burkin/Levchenko, needed to secure the support of law enforcement officials in Ukraine, so he enlisted the help of a man nicknamed "Kriminal."
The media identified him as Andriy Osipov.
"The criminal had previously been sentenced to 4.5 and 6 years in prison for robbery, unlawful seizure of a vehicle, and disorderly conduct. At the same time, this did not prevent him from maintaining close ties with law enforcement officers who, like him, were born, raised, and began their careers in the Zhytomyr region," says Oleksandr Abakumov, head of the NABU detective unit.
SAPO Prosecutor Mykola Karas says that "Kriminal" (Andriy Osipov—Ed.) used his close ties to high-ranking SSU officials and, between 2022 and the fall of 2025, became a co-organizer of a criminal organization.
According to NABU investigators, Kryminal was responsible in this scheme for ensuring that law enforcement agencies did not raise any objections to the criminal organization’s activities.
The publication "Dzerkalo Tyzhnia" wrote in detail about Kryminal (Andriy Osipov—Ed.) as early as the summer of 2026. The article stated that the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO) suspect Andriy Osipov of extorting one million dollars from a Russian citizen. In exchange for this money, the suspect promised to "resolve the issue" regarding criminal prosecution and extradition to Russia.
Read the full article on Censor.NET about the new phase of Operation "Carthage" at this link.
What led up to this?
- Earlier, the NABU reported that a high-ranking SSU official was threatening to use a weapon and was obstructing a search.
- Subsequently, the Bureau stated that NABU and the SAPO had exposed a criminal organization that systematically bribed high-ranking officials of the SSU, the National Police, and the Prosecutor General's Office in exchange for "protection" of fraudulent call centers and other illegal businesses.
- The NABU stated that a criminal organization had been uncovered, whose members had established a systematic practice of bribing high-ranking law enforcement officials in exchange for allowing fraudulent call centers and other illegal businesses to operate unhindered.
