The High Anti-Corruption Court remanded the driver of an official of the Office of the Prosecutor General in custody with bail set at 3 million hryvnias

The High Anti-Corruption Court has chosen a preventive measure for Serhii Kutsyi – the driver of an official of the Prosecutor General’s Office, Serhii Kropyva, who is implicated in the large-scale anti-corruption operation by NABU and SAP “Carthage”. The Anti-Corruption Centre writes about this. Serhii Kutsyi was taken into custody for 60 days with the possibility of posting 3 million UAH bail. On NABU recordings he appears under the alias “Kamrad”. The court made the decision on 7 September 2026.

The court only partially granted the motion of the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office. The prosecutor asked to keep Serhii Kutsyi in custody with an alternative bail of 20 million UAH, however the High Anti-Corruption Court (VAKS) set it at 3 million UAH.

If bail is posted, Serhii Kutsyi must appear for every summons by a detective, prosecutor and the court, notify about any change of residence or workplace, surrender documents for travel abroad and wear an electronic monitoring device. He is also prohibited from communicating with court-designated witnesses, other suspects and a number of prosecutors, among whom are named Serhii Kropyva, Yelyzaveta Ivakhnenko and Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko.

At the same time, the ban on contacting Ruslan Kravchenko itself does not mean that the Prosecutor General has the status of a suspect in this proceeding. On the evening of 7 September Ruslan Kravchenko told journalists that he does not have procedural status either as a suspect or as a witness in the “Carthage” case. He also denied any involvement in receiving or legalizing money from illegal call centres.

According to the prosecution’s version, Serhii Kutsyi was not merely the driver of Serhii Kropyva, but carried out a number of his assignments and was involved in the organisation’s activities. In particular, investigators believe that he provided security during Kropyva’s official trips and meetings, used unregistered license plates on vehicles, maintained contact with other participants and could receive money from persons connected to fraudulent call centres for subsequent transfer to Serhii Kropyva.

A separate episode concerns the legalization of property. According to the SAP prosecutor, Serhii Kropyva allegedly sought a person in whose name apartments in Polianytsia in the Carpathians could be registered so that the property would not have to be declared as an asset of a public official. The investigation claims that after a conversation with Serhii Kutsyi the possibility of registering the property in the name of the driver’s wife was considered. In return, the family was, according to the indictment, allegedly promised a share of the future sale of the apartments and the opportunity to vacation there free of charge.

In addition, the prosecutor stated that Serhii Kutsyi, through unofficial exchange points, allegedly helped convert Serhii Kropyva‘s funds into cash. The investigation materials contain recordings of conversations where the driver, according to the prosecution’s interpretation, discussed where to deliver the “paket” with cash and how much to “order” at the exchange office.

The lawyers of Serhii Kutsyi insisted that their client worked as a driver and did not perform the functions attributed to him by the prosecution. The defence stated that there is no evidence of his involvement in “protecting” call centres or legalizing criminal proceeds, and that part of the statements in the indictment, in the lawyers’ view, are based on assumptions. The defenders also disputed the version about conscious assistance in re-registering the property to the wife of Serhii Kutsyi and argued that he could not have known about any alleged criminal intent of Serhii Kropyva. They asked the court to deny the prosecutor’s motion. Serhii Kutsyi did not provide further explanations after his lawyers’ statements.

NABU and SAP officially reported the exposure of the criminal organisation on 5 September 2026. According to the detectives, it was created in mid-2025 by one of the heads of a structural unit of the Prosecutor General’s Office, involving prosecution staff and close associates. Law enforcement officers reported five exposed participants.

According to NABU, members of the organisation allegedly systematically received illicit benefits in exchange for non-interference in the operation of fraudulent call centres that deceived Ukrainians and foreigners. The received funds, investigators believe, were laundered through the purchase of real estate, jewellery and other property, registering assets in the names of third parties and placing money in accounts of close associates. NABU’s official statement lists the following amounts: more than 20 million UAH in property, assets with a minimum market value of over 12 million UAH and over 10 million UAH in accounts of close associates.

Materials on the platform “VAKS vyrishyv”, which tracks the course of the case, already speak of the legalization of more than 89.9 million UAH within the entire “Carthage” operation. There Serhii Kropyva is listed under the alias “Chancellor”, Yelyzaveta Ivakhnenko as “Muse”, and Serhii Kutsyi as “Kamrad”.

Earlier, on 6 September, the High Anti-Corruption Court placed Serhii Kropyva himself in custody with the possibility of posting bail of 120 million UAH. On 7 September the court also chose a preventive measure for Yelyzaveta Ivakhnenko – detention with the alternative of 20 million UAH bail. The investigation continues.