Acting Prosecutor General of Ukraine Anton Kovalsky stated in a conversation with journalists that he had not received proposals to head the Office of the Prosecutor General on a permanent basis. According to him, the proposal to take the position of acting prosecutor general came personally from President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Kovalsky emphasized that he is currently continuing to combine his duties as head of the agency with the leadership of the Khmelnytskyi Oblast Prosecutor's Office.
Tasks set by the Head of State
According to Kovalsky, the main task at the time of his appointment was to quickly ensure the stable operation of the Office of the Prosecutor General, as uncertainty had arisen within the agency regarding who exactly should perform duties and sign official documents. A separate instruction from the president, as the acting prosecutor general reported, was to «purge the system of people who worked here unworthily». Kovalsky also clarified that he did not occupy the office of former Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko and works in a different room.
Audit of the International Cooperation Department
The acting prosecutor general announced the appointment of a comprehensive audit in the international cooperation department, where Serhii Kropyva previously worked. According to Kovalsky, the inspection revealed about a hundred requests for international legal assistance that had been «gathering dust» for a long time. «The vast majority of these requests are cases involving call centers. Czechia, France, European states — simply no one did anything about them», he said. Following the revealed violations, the department's leadership and its deputies were replaced, and specialists specializing in the international direction were returned to work in the agency. In addition, according to Pravda.com.ua, since Kovalsky's appointment, 24 prosecutors have undergone polygraph testing.
Context: Kravchenko's resignation and official investigation
Recall that in the autumn, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office exposed a high-ranking official of the Office of the Prosecutor General who, according to the investigation, was covering up fraudulent call centers. Following this, Ruslan Kravchenko announced his resignation from the post of Prosecutor General. His dismissal did not happen immediately, as the Verkhovna Rada had to make the relevant decision. Prior to this, Kravchenko managed to sign a notice of suspicion against NABU Director Semen Kryvonos and also left Ukraine.
Results of the internal investigation
The Office of the Prosecutor General has completed an official investigation into the circumstances of the departure of former agency head Ruslan Kravchenko outside of Ukraine. The inspection established that he violated the law. Thus, the agency headed by Kovalsky is continuing the process of personnel and organizational changes aimed, according to him, at restoring the operational capability of key divisions of the Office of the Prosecutor General.
