The Higher Anti-Corruption Court (VACS) has selected a preventive measure for Elizaveta Ivakhnenko, a figure in the high-profile NABU and SAP "Carthage" case. As reported by RBC-Ukraine and Focus, citing a broadcast of the hearing, the court placed the suspect in custody with the option of posting bail in the amount of 20 million hryvnia. Meanwhile, the prosecution had requested a stricter alternative — bail of 50 million hryvnia — meaning the court effectively halved the amount proposed by the prosecutor's office.
Who Is the "Muse" from the NABU Recordings
In the footage released as part of the "Carthage" operation, Ivakhnenko is referred to by the code name "Muse." According to the investigation, she is a close associate of the case's main figure — Serhiy Kropyva, known in the recordings as the "Chancellor." It is she, according to the prosecutor's office, who is credited with the remark about hiding assets from an Instagram account: "I've got a 'Porsche,' 'Loro Piana,' watches, bracelets, bags, fur coats. Do I need to delete all of it?" The prosecution charges the 24-year-old Ivakhnenko with laundering funds obtained by a criminal organization: according to the investigation, defendant Kropyva registered real estate in her name and in the names of members of her family.
The "Carthage" Operation Scheme and the Scale of Laundering
On September 4, NABU and SAP announced a special operation to expose a criminal organization linked to the "protection" of a network of fraudulent call centers and the laundering of assets. According to the investigation, the group was formed in mid-2025 and included active prosecutors and their associates; the participants, it is alleged, received bribes for not obstructing the operation of the fraudulent call centers. The proceeds were laundered in several ways: by purchasing real estate, jewelry, and valuable movable property worth more than 20 million hryvnia, by placing more than 10 million hryvnia in bank accounts of close associates under the guise of income from entrepreneurial activity, and by re-registering assets — in particular, units in an apartment complex near the Carpathians, whose minimum market value, according to the investigation, exceeds 12 million hryvnia. Law enforcement officers conducted searches, including in the office premises of the Office of the Prosecutor General. The Bureau announced the exposure of five participants; the main figure is named as Serhiy Kropyva ("Chancellor"), head of the Department of International Cooperation of the Office of the Prosecutor General, who was placed in custody on September 6 with the option of posting 120 million hryvnia in bail.
The Prosecutor General's Reaction
Ruslan Khrachenko commented on the situation with the searches at the Office of the Prosecutor General, stating that he has no connection to shielding illegal call centers, gave no instructions to facilitate such activity, and did not use his powers as Prosecutor General for that purpose. He also promised to "tighten inspections" within the agency itself in connection with this case.
Contradictory Data
The case materials and the statements of the parties contain a number of inconsistencies that are important to take into account. First, the prosecution requested bail of 50 million hryvnia, whereas the court set the alternative at 20 million hryvnia — a difference of thirty million hryvnia that reflects the gap between the prosecution's position and the court's decision. Second, the publicly available details about the identity of the "Muse" are inconsistent: a number of media outlets (including UNIAN) state that Ivakhnenko became a deputy dean at the age of 22, whereas in the prosecutor's procedural materials she appears as a 24-year-old suspect. These discrepancies in age and professional status have not yet been commented on by the defense.
