Operation Karfagen: lower bail and extended remand for Kropyva and two co-suspects
Ukraine’s anticorruption court extended three suspects’ remand by sixty days on 29 October and set lower alternative bail amounts in Operation Karfagen. They include former senior official Serhii Kropyva, known as Chancellor.
According to court monitor Transparency International Ukraine and Babel, which cites the court announcement, Serhii Kropyva’s alternative bail was reduced from 120 million to over 93 million hryvnias. Lawyer Oleksandr Dydych’s was set at 11.7 million, down from 15 million; a third suspect’s was set at 15 million. The 29 October decisions extend remand by sixty days. If bail is paid, obligations include reporting when summoned, restrictions on contact with designated people, surrendering passports and electronic monitoring.
Ukraine’s anticorruption bureau NABU announced a further formal suspicion in Operation Karfagen on 22 October. A former department head in the Prosecutor General’s Office allegedly played a key role in protecting illegal scam call centres. According to NABU and specialised anticorruption prosecutors, the man maintained contact with call-centre representatives and regularly received money from them. He allegedly also provided security and concealment for the organisation and recruited others. The suspicions concern participation in a criminal organisation and assisting bribery.
Investigators describe a nationwide arrangement in which call centres paid monthly for protection from prosecution and the blocking of investigations. The announcement put documented illicit payments above one billion hryvnias. NABU identifies a senior official within the Prosecutor General’s Office as the organisation’s leader.
In its initial announcement on 5 September, NABU reported five participants, including prosecution employees and associates. According to that investigation, proceeds were invested in property and valuables and concealed through relatives’ accounts. Enquiries into other participants are continuing.
