Serhiy Kutsy, driver of Serhiy Kropyva, deputy head of the International Cooperation Department at the Prosecutor General's Office and a suspect in the Carthage case, posted UAH 3 million bail and was released from custody, the Anti-Corruption Action Center (AnTAC) said.
“The driver of Carthage suspect Serhiy Kropyva, Serhiy ‘Kamrad’ Kutsy, managed to post UAH 3 million bail and was released from custody,” AnTAC said in a Telegram post on Monday.
Kutsy is now required to appear whenever summoned by a detective, prosecutor or court; report any change of residence or employment; surrender his passports for travel abroad; refrain from communicating with certain people, including Kropyva and Kropyva's partner Yelyzaveta Ivakhnenko, who are defendants in the case and remain in custody; and wear an electronic monitoring bracelet.
AnTAC said that after posting bail through his lawyer, Kutsy withdrew his appeal. The Appeals Chamber accepted the withdrawal.
Kropyva remains in custody with the option of posting UAH 120 million bail.
According to investigators, Kutsy was a member of a criminal organization headed by Kropyva. In particular, he provided security during Kropyva's trips in an official vehicle and his meetings with other people, used unregistered license plates, received money from people linked to call centers and passed it on to Kropyva. He also helped Kropyva communicate with other members of the organization, participated in money laundering and carried out other instructions from him.
As reported, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO) exposed five members of a criminal organization headed by an official at the Prosecutor General's Office who systematically received illegal payments for protecting a network of fraudulent call centers and laundered more than UAH 42 million through property purchases, including apartments in the Carpathians, jewelry and deposits in relatives' accounts. The Prosecutor General's Office also said it intended to assist the investigation and announced the official's suspension from his duties.
Amid the scandal over Kropyva's possible involvement in the Carthage case, Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko submitted his resignation. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy suspended him from office, and on September 15 the Verkhovna Rada approved Kravchenko's dismissal. Kropyva is identified in covert investigative materials as Kravchenko's confidant. According to investigators, he coordinated household matters and repairs at Kravchenko's house. Kravchenko has not been notified of suspicion.
At the same time, after submitting his resignation, Kravchenko signed a notice of suspicion against NABU Director Semen Kryvonos on September 14. NABU and SAPO said in response that they viewed the move as a continuation of a systematic attack on the independence of anti-corruption bodies.
The Prosecutor General's Office said late on September 14 that no such notice of suspicion had been issued.
Kravchenko, in turn, said he had left Ukraine on a business trip. According to Ukrainska Pravda journalist Mykhailo Tkach, Kravchenko's wife left Ukraine for Moldova on September 12.
Kravchenko said he had traveled to France to attend a hearing of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) parliamentary network, but PACE said he and his representatives would not participate in the meeting.
