Ukraine prosecutor general resigns in latest fallout from anti-corruption crackdown

By Dan Peleschuk

KYIV, Sept 8 (Reuters) - Ukraine's ‌prosecutor general resigned ​his post ​late on Monday after a corruption investigation reached his office, becoming the latest senior official ensnared in an intensified anti-graft crackdown by Kyiv's independent watchdogs.

Ruslan Kravchenko was not charged ‌with a crime or named a suspect in any investigation. But authorities had accused ⁠a subordinate of helping run a fraud ring, prompting the presidential appointee to quit to avoid "political confrontation".

"This is a political decision, ‌and I have made it consciously," ‌said Kravchenko, 36, in a statement. He denied any wrongdoing.

The case is the latest in a series of high-profile corruption scandals that have claimed the jobs of senior officials in President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's ​government and forced several wartime shake-ups.

Zelenskiy said on Tuesday he would submit Kravchenko's request to parliament, where lawmakers must approve his resignation.

STACKS OF CASH

The investigation by the NABU and SAPO agencies, announced on ⁠Saturday, centres on a department manager whom prosecutors say took bribes for helping to cover up a call centre that defrauded Ukrainians and ​foreigners.

They said the official recruited fellow employees and friends to launder nearly $1 million in proceeds through real estate purchases and other assets.

The agencies published photos of a ​safe filled with stacks of cash and detectives confiscating a ‌luxury SUV.

Such vivid instances of alleged graft have fuelled public anger at a time when Ukraine is fighting for survival against Russia.

Last year, Zelenskiy faced the worst ⁠political crisis of the war after his ex-business partner was accused of running a $100 million kickback scheme at the state atomic agency.

CALLS TO REFORM PROSECUTOR'S OFFICE

Kravchenko had been criticised by opponents for allegedly participating in an attempt to roll ⁠back the powers of NABU and SAPO last year - accusations he has denied.

In Ukraine, the prosecutor's office enjoys considerable powers, ​ranging from probing corruption to investigating war crimes.

Zelenskiy, who had faced protests last year over the proposed restrictions on the anti-corruption agencies, said on Tuesday that he had met with Kravchenko as well as NABU and SAPO following the ‌latest investigation.

Opposition lawmaker Andrii Osadchuk, deputy chair of parliament's law-enforcement committee, said the scandal underlines the need to reform the prosecution service and called for key posts ‌to be filled through open competition.

Fighting corruption is also critical to Kyiv's bid for membership in the European Union.

"It ⁠will be very difficult for Ukraine to ‌move forward if we do ​not change the approach to selecting and appointing the prosecutor general and prosecutors at lower levels," Osadchuk said.

(Additional reporting by Jekaterīna Golubkova in Tokyo; Editing by Stephen Coates and ‌Ros Russell)

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