Corruption in Ukraine: Expensive jewelry and lots of cash

The Ukrainian justice system is currently making headlines: the resignation of Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko on Monday evening was followed 24 hours later by the resignation of his deputy, Marija Vdovychenko. Previously, Serhiy Kropyva, a high-ranking member of the Prosecutor General's Office, and his companion Elisabeta Ivakhnenko were arrested by the Ukrainian anti-corruption authorities Nabu (National Anti-Corruption Bureau) and Sapo (Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office).

During house searches in the offices of the Attorney General's Office, the anti-corruption authorities found expensive jewelry and significant amounts of cash. Kropyva, deputy head of the international cooperation department in the attorney general's office, is accused of accepting bribes to protect fraudulent call centers.

According to the prosecutor of the Special Investigation Agency (SAP), Serhiy Kropywa laundered around 2 million euros with the cooperation of Iwachnenko, according to the findings of the investigation so far. They used these funds to purchase real estate in Kyiv and Odessa, among other places. In addition, Ivakhnenko is accused of helping Kropywa buy a Mercedes-Benz using money obtained from criminal sources.

In a recorded phone call, the person she was talking to, obviously Kropywa, instructed her to delete photos of her expensive jewelry on Instagram. The court ordered both of them to be in custody for two months. Ivakhnenko is not accused of running call centers or organizing their protection.

She and Kropywa deny the allegations against them. Volodymyr Fomitschow, editor of Ukrayinska Pravda, told the broadcaster Svoboda, which is financed by the US Congress, that there are currently around 2,000 illegal call centers in Ukraine. According to his information, the centers each employ between 40 and 200 people. On average, they earn between 2,000 and 3,000 euros per month, says Fomitschow.

Ukrainska Pravda, citing its own sources, estimated that representatives of the Prosecutor General's Office received about $7,000 a month from each illegal call center.

If one assumes that the General Prosecutor's Office has taken 100 illegal call centers under its wing, the sum would be an impressive $700,000 per month, Ukrajinska Pravda calculates. There may have been as many as 500 call centers in 2026 to which representatives of the Attorney General's Office would have offered protection. Then, Ukrayinska Pravda calculates, $3.5 million could have been made illegally per month.

Former Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko and his former deputy Marija Vdovychenko are not yet accused of involvement in these machinations. But it will be difficult for them to explain to the anti-corruption authorities that they knew nothing about all of this.