The NABU and the SAPO suspect Serhii Kropyva, head of one of the Prosecutor General's Office units, and his accomplices of forming a criminal organization that ran a systematic scheme of extracting bribes from fraudulent call centers and legalized over UAH 89.9 million in criminally obtained funds.

Investigators say that in mid-2025, Prosecutor General's Office official Serhii Kropyva — who appears on the NABU tapes under the alias “the Chancellor” — created and led a criminal organization. Its members included serving prosecutors, officials from other state bodies, and close associates.

Those already served with suspicion include:

● Serhii Kropyva “the Chancellor” — deputy head of a Prosecutor General's Office department, suspected of providing cover for illegal fraudulent call centers and legalizing criminally obtained property.

● Yelyzaveta Ivakhnenko “the Muse” — Kropyva's close associate, suspected of legalizing criminally obtained funds.

● Serhii Kutsyi “Comrade” — Kropyva's driver, suspected of legalizing criminally obtained funds.

● Oleksandr Dydych — a lawyer, suspected of legalizing criminally obtained property.

The criminal group imposed systematic “payoffs” in exchange for letting shadow call centers operate unhindered — operations that swindled citizens of Ukraine and EU countries. For call centers that refused to submit or pay the “interest,” the suspects created obstacles: they ran “demonstrative” searches (the tapes discuss searches in Dnipro, among others) and other investigative actions to “stir things up” and bring the market under their own control.

The suspects legalized the illicit proceeds along several main lines. Investigators established the legalization of over UAH 89.9 million (UAH 41.7 million during Kropyva's time at the PGO and a further UAH 48.2 million during his tenure as deputy head of the Odesa RMA):

● Over UAH 20 million went to buying real estate, luxury watches, jewelry, and expensive movable property.

● About UAH 12 million took the form of assets registered to front persons — including apartments at the upscale Glacier resort complex in Bukovel, re-registered to the driver Kutsyi's wife.

● About UAH 10 million was placed in relatives' bank accounts (including that of Yelyzaveta Ivakhnenko's mother), disguised as legitimate income from individual entrepreneurs.

● To create an appearance of legitimate wealth, the suspects discussed inventing a “cover story” about Ivakhnenko's parents' savings supposedly brought out of Russia, using cryptocurrency, and routing funds through a company set up in the United States.

Investigators also say Kropyva lobbied to place “his own” people in senior posts at regional prosecutor's offices (Maksym Shtompel in Cherkasy, and also in Dnipropetrovsk region) and at the State Tax Service (its deputy head, Ihor Panchenko). According to the investigation, he used official trips abroad (to Madrid, for instance) for lavish leisure. Investigators further say that after the NABU searches and the publication of journalistic investigations, the suspects began covering their tracks: wiping phones, deleting posts and photos on social media, prepping false witnesses for questioning, and rushing to “re-register” or sell off high-end assets.

In court, the SAPO prosecutor stressed that the suspects were fully aware of the unlawful nature of their actions and had built a large-scale system of corrupt control and money laundering. The prosecution emphasized the risks of the suspects absconding from the investigation (foreign-travel passports, connections, the seizure of railway tickets, and Ivakhnenko's detention at the Lviv station), of destroying and distorting documents, of pressuring witnesses, and of obstructing the proceedings through ties in state bodies and the prosecution service. The SAPO prosecutor moved for detention as a preventive measure, with the alternative of bail set at UAH 200 million for Kropyva, UAH 50 million for Ivakhnenko, UAH 20 million for Kutsyi, and UAH 50 million for Dydych.

The defense considers the suspicion unfounded. The lawyers stressed that none of the suspects has been served suspicion under Article 368 of the Criminal Code (acceptance of unlawful benefit), so there is no predicate for classifying the funds as laundered. They also argue the case shows no signs of a criminal organization, and that Kropyva's detention in Lviv occurred during an official work trip, not an attempt to flee. They called the proposed bail amounts disproportionate to the suspects' incomes. Kropyva himself said he does not admit guilt and that the released NABU tapes contain phrases “taken out of context” that are merely “words said in jest” and “Odesa lexicon.” He denied all accusations of a flight attempt and said he was ready to post UAH 2 million bail. Yelyzaveta Ivakhnenko likewise said she did not know a criminal organization existed and took no part in it, and that in Lviv she was waiting for a train to Odesa.

The suspects' actions have been classified under:

● Article 255 of the Criminal Code — creation and leadership of a criminal community or criminal organization, and participation in one;

● Article 209 of the Criminal Code — legalization (laundering) of property obtained by criminal means.

Before his appointment in August 2025 as deputy head of a Prosecutor General's Office department, Serhii Kropyva worked in the Cyberpolice Department of Ukraine's National Police (from 2021) and, in 2023–2024, served as deputy head of the Odesa Regional State Administration under Oleh Kiper. Investigators say Kropyva had extensive connections in the Office of the President of Ukraine (including with Oleksii Bondarev) and took part in personnel appointments at the State Tax Service. It also emerged during the suspects' preventive-measure hearings that Serhii Kropyva was not merely one of the PGO staff under Prosecutor General Kravchenko, but likely his unofficial aide as well. Investigators read out correspondence indicating that Kropyva likely oversaw renovations at Kravchenko's house.