Prosecutor general promises not to close cases after Zelenskyy's or the president's Office call
Ruslan Kravchenko (Photo: Mariam Hovhannisyan / LIGA.net)

Prosecutor general Ruslan Kravchenko said he would not close criminal cases based on calls from the president Volodymyr Zelenskyy or his Office. The official said this during a press conference, the LIGA.net.

"Of course, I will refuse [Zelenskyy and the OP], because they have no right to give me such illegal instructions. And this, in my opinion and according to the law, is an illegal instruction," the official said.

Earlier, Kravchenko said that he was not going to take the case of the former deputy prime minister and minister of National Unity Oleksiy Chernyshov from the National Anti-Corruption Bureau.

At the same time, he said he was interested in the case Ihor Kolomoiskyy, who is suspected of stealing money from the PrivatBank.

The NABU and the SAPO are investigating corruption, particularly in the highest echelons of power. According to the executive director of the Anti-Corruption Action Center Daria Kaleniuk, in addition to Chernyshov, NABU and SAPO also "approached" another person from Zelenskyy's inner circle – a businessman from the Privat group and co-owner of Kvartal 95 Timur Mindich (he was not notified of the suspicion).

However, the amendments to Law 12414 adopted the day before make the NABU and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office dependent on the Prosecutor General.

Among the innovations, the official is now may reassign cases to any prosecutor and transfer investigation of cases within the NABU's jurisdiction to other agencies.

At the same time, Kravchenko does not believe that after the amendments to the legislation were adopted, anti-corruption agencies lost their independence.

The President selects the Prosecutor General, and then the Parliament votes on the candidate. The heads of the NABU and SAPO are selected by competition commissions with the participation of representatives of both the Ukrainian authorities and international partners. The winner of an open competition in the SAPO is appointed by the Prosecutor General, and in the NABU – by the Cabinet of Ministers.