The Prosecutor Generalʼs Office (PGO) stated that during the searches, NABU detectives gained access to materials from other criminal proceedings that are not related to the case of possible "covering" of fraudulent call centers.
This is stated in a statement from the departmentʼs press service.
They say that around midnight on September 5, NABU detectives searched the office premises of the Prosecutor General, his first deputy, and other employees of PGO.
At the same time, the department believes that NABU may have gone beyond the limits of the investigative actions permitted by the court. During the searches, according to the Prosecutor Generalʼs Office, detectives gained access not only to the case files within the framework of which they conducted investigative actions, but also to documents from other criminal proceedings — in particular, on possible illegal actions by NABU and SAPO employees and people associated with the SAPO leadership.
PGO stated that they must now determine whether such access was covered by court permits and whether the detectives removed or copied these materials.
"Certain questions also arise after analyzing the court decisions that justified the investigative actions against the leadership of PGO," the department added.
At the same time, the Prosecutor Generalʼs Office emphasized that they do not deny the NABUʼs right to investigate the possible involvement of their employee in a scheme with fraudulent call centers. An internal investigation has already been launched regarding him and the issue of his dismissal is being resolved.
Separately, PGO questioned the validity of the searches of Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko. They claim that the conversations cited in the court ruling concern everyday issues, in particular, "dark tiles", the installation of alarms and internal sensors.
There is no direct evidence in these materials that Kravchenko facilitated the work of call centers, received funds from them, or warned about investigative actions.
As for First Deputy Prosecutor General Maria Vdovychenko, PGO notes that the conversations cited in the ruling concern the coordination of investigative actions regarding call centers. According to the prosecutorʼs office, the discussion of the preparation of searches was later used as one of the arguments for the version of possible assistance to these same call centers.
That is, according to PGO, Vdovychenko spoke about call centers not in order to coordinate their work, but in order to counteract them.
PGO emphasized that all facts of possible illegal activities of prosecutorsʼ employees should be investigated, but at the same time, investigative actions by the NABU, SAPO, and other law enforcement agencies should be carried out exclusively within the framework of the law and court permits.
"Possible exceeding of the limits of legal access to materials of criminal proceedings that did not relate to the subject of the search will be carefully checked within the criminal proceedings. Each established circumstance will receive a proper legal assessment," PGO stated.
- On September 5, NABU and SAPO reported that as part of the special operation "Carthage" they had exposed a criminal organization headed by one of the heads of structural units of the Prosecutor Generalʼs Office.
- According to the investigation, the participants in the scheme systematically received bribes from fraudulent call centers and legalized millions of dollars in wealth. Five of the suspects have already been charged.
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