Ukraine's Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko states that he has no plans to submit a letter of resignation of his own accord, though he assures that he is not clinging to his position.
"I am not clinging to my position, nor will I ever do so... this is a decision of the team, a decision of the president and the Verkhovna Rada [to dismiss the prosecutor general], but as of today, I have not made such a decision [to submit a letter of resignation of my own accord]," he said during a meeting with journalists on Monday, responding to a question from Interfax-Ukraine about whether he considered it appropriate to resign in light of the damage to his reputation following the release of materials related to the Carthage operation.
Kravchenko added that on Tuesday he will attend a meeting of the relevant Verkhovna Rada committee, to which he was invited by Serhiy Ionushas, a member of the Verkhovna Rada from the Servant of the People faction and Ionushas, chairman of the parliamentary committee on law enforcement, and will answer all questions posed to him by parliamentarians.
"If the MPs want me to resign – there is a procedure; the Verkhovna Rada can remove me from office," he said.
The Prosecutor General said "on all issues where there are questions for me, I have answers that are in accordance with the law, and I am ready for any investigations."
"I am ashamed that there are people on our team who are suspected of crimes. I am frankly ashamed. Everyone (in the Office of the Prosecutor General) understood that, for me, the very idea of such a crime was like drugs – the topic was taboo. This isn't negligence or an accidental traffic accident. I understand that I was simply kept in the dark and that my authority was abused," Kravchenko said.
Responding to a question about the existence of materials concerning employees of anti-corruption agencies that may have been seized by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) during a search, the Prosecutor General noted that he had no information on the matter, but added: "According to reports from my staff, there were materials in their offices, as well as documents related to criminal proceedings involving other law enforcement agencies."
Kravchenko expressed surprise that NABU officials did not present search warrants. "State Security did not let them in because they refused to show the warrants," he said.
Speaking about the searches at his home, the Prosecutor General said that no obstacles were raised; on the contrary, he facilitated the process. "I believe the searches are lawful because there is a court order. I respect the court," he added.
Commenting on reports that he was allegedly in the hospital, Kravchenko said he did not know where this rumour came from, since he was at work on Saturday and journalists could have verified this. "Was I in any hospital? No, I wasn't. Was I hiding? No. I wasn't hiding," the prosecutor general said.
"I have no evidence [to speak more specifically about whether this could have been a provocation against him]. I believe this is a provocation," he said.
The Prosecutor General also said that complaints will be filed with the Qualification and Disciplinary Commission for Prosecutors regarding actions taken by a prosecutor [specifically, by Serhiy Kropyva, the deputy head of the PGO Department of International Cooperation and a suspect in the Carthage case] that bring the office of prosecutor into disrepute, and that an internal investigation will also examine the involvement of other employees of the prosecutor's office in unlawful actions.
"Right now, it is important for me to preserve the morale and psychological well-being of the team," Kravchenko said.
As previously reported, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO) exposed five members of a criminal organization led by an official from the Prosecutor General's Office, who systematically received illicit benefits for covering up a network of fraudulent call and laundered over UAH 42 million through the purchase of real estate – including apartments in the Carpathians – jewelry, and the deposit of funds into relatives' accounts. For its part, the PGO also stated its intention to assist with the investigation and announced that the suspect had been suspended from his official duties.
On Sunday, September 6, the court ordered Serhiy Kropyva, deputy head of the Department of International Cooperation at the PGO, to be held in pretrial detention until November 2, with the option to post bail in the amount of UAH 120 million.
Kravchenko denied any involvement in receiving or laundering funds from illegal call centers, and regarding his family's financial situation and living expenses, he emphasized that all expenditures and trips were made exclusively within the limits of his declared income.
"From the conversations [made public by the anti-corruption authorities], it is clear that the anti-corruption authorities' previous claim regarding my involvement in receiving funds from illegal call centers and their laundering has no basis whatsoever. Conversations are just conversations, just as a photo of a safe with money is merely a photo of a safe with money that has no connection whatsoever to me or to the prosecutor's office – it is, according to my attorneys, simply a photograph from another criminal proceeding," he said.
