Ruslan Kravchenko, who was dismissed as Prosecutor General of Ukraine amid the Carthage operation scandal, remains a prosecutor at the Prosecutor General's Office (PGO), but did not report to work after his secondment, Ukrainska Pravda reported, citing PGO spokeswoman Mariana Haiovska.
"The official end date of Ruslan Kravchenko's secondment was September 18. As of 2 p.m. on September 21, he had not arrived at the Prosecutor General's Office," the publication quoted the spokeswoman as saying.
"Haiovska explained that Kravchenko lost only his administrative position – Prosecutor General – but remains a PGO prosecutor," Ukrainska Pravda said.
The publication also quoted the spokeswoman as saying she did not know whether Kravchenko had returned to Ukraine or where he currently was.
Interfax-Ukraine was unable to clarify this information with the Prosecutor General's Office.
As 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 of the Prosecutor General's Office who systematically received illicit payments for covering up a network of fraudulent call centers and laundered more than UAH 42 million through the purchase of real estate, including apartments in the Carpathians, jewelry and placing funds in relatives' accounts.
Amid the scandal over Kravchenko's possible involvement in the Carthage case, Prosecutor General Kravchenko submitted his resignation. President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy suspended him from office, and on September 15 the Verkhovna Rada approved his dismissal. In materials from covert investigative (search) actions, the key suspect in the case, Serhiy Kropyva, deputy head of the PGO's International Cooperation Department, is described as Kravchenko's confidant. According to investigators, he coordinated household matters and repairs at Kravchenko's house.
Kravchenko has not been served with a notice of suspicion.
At the same time, after submitting his resignation, on September 14 Kravchenko signed a notice of suspicion against National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine Director Semen Kryvonos. In response, NABU and SAPO said they viewed the move as a continuation of a systematic attack on independent anti-corruption agencies.
The Prosecutor General's Office said on the evening of September 14 that no such suspicion had been issued.
Kravchenko, for his part, said he had left Ukraine, saying he had gone on a secondment. According to Ukrainska Pravda journalist Mykhailo Tkach, Kravchenko's wife left Ukraine for Moldova on September 12.
Kravchenko said he had gone to France to participate in a hearing of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) parliamentary network, but PACE said he and his representatives would not take part in the relevant meeting.
It is not officially known where Kravchenko is currently. According to unconfirmed media reports, he may be in Vienna, Austria, negotiating with local law firms over seeking asylum.
