Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) has dismissed two senior officials amid an investigation into an alleged criminal network involving law enforcement personnel accused of protecting illegal business operations.
The National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO) announced that they had uncovered an organization involving at least a dozen individuals as part of an ongoing investigation known as “Operation Carthage,” according to Anadolu Agency.
According to the agencies, the suspected leader of the network, who had several previous criminal convictions, recruited officials from the SBU, the National Police and the Prosecutor General’s Office, as well as individuals linked to the criminal underworld.
“Under the protection of these law enforcement officials, the group facilitated the operation of fraudulent call centers — which scammed both Ukrainian citizens and foreign nationals — as well as the sale of narcotics and the illicit production of counterfeit cigarettes and fake foreign currency,” NABU said in a statement.
SAPO also alleged that members of the organization had carried out attacks, abductions and assaults on behalf of the group.
Later on Wednesday, the SBU announced that its chief, Oleksandr Poklad, had dismissed two high-ranking officials and pledged the agency’s full cooperation with investigators.
“The Security Service expects a transparent, objective, and impartial investigation. I have discussed this, among other things, with the heads of the NABU and the SAPO. There is clear and constructive cooperation,” Poklad said.
He added that the agency was working with intelligence services in partner countries to ensure that the investigation also covered other jurisdictions.
Meanwhile, the National Police announced that officers implicated in the case had been temporarily suspended from their duties.
The police urged the public to “refrain from making premature conclusions and assessments” until the investigation had been completed.
In September, Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko was dismissed in connection with the same investigation. At the time, anti-corruption investigators reported uncovering an alleged criminal organization headed by a department chief at the Prosecutor General’s Office.
Members of the group are suspected of receiving bribes from fraudulent call centers in exchange for allowing them to continue operating without interference.
The fight against corruption remains a key condition for Ukraine’s efforts to join the European Union, which formally opened accession negotiations with Kyiv in June 2024.