---
title: "VAKS keeps Deputy Head of the OPG Department Serhiy Kropyv in custody in the 'Carthage' case"
description: "The VAKS Appellate Chamber rejected the appeal filed by the defense of Serhiy Kropyv, Deputy Head of the International Cooperation Department of the OPG, and kept him in custody with the alternative of bail of 120 million hryvnias."
date: 2026-09-16T15:16:00.000Z
lang: en
url: https://xab.info/en/posts/vaks-keeps-kropyv-in-custody-in-carthage-case
tags: [vakc, carthage-operation, ukraine-anti-corruption, ogp, saps, nabu]
publisher: "XAB.info"
---

# VAKS keeps Deputy Head of the OPG Department Serhiy Kropyv in custody in the 'Carthage' case

![Serhiy Kropyva, deputy head of the OGP department, kept in custody by the HCC in the 'Carthage' case, photographed in an official setting](https://xab.info/media/2026/09/17/vaks-ostavil-kropivu-pod-strazhej-po-delu-kartagen/vaks-ostavil-kropivu-pod-strazhej-po-delu-kartagen-1.webp)

## 🎯 Key Points

- The VAKS Appellate Chamber rejected the appeal filed by Serhiy Kropyv's defense and kept him in custody with the alternative of bail of 120 million hryvnias.
- The defense sought house arrest with an ankle monitor and a reduction of bail to 2 million hryvnias; the SAP prosecutor refuted the version of a business trip at the time of detention.
- Kropyv is implicated in the NABU and SAP operation 'Carthage' over the 'protection' of fraudulent call centers and the laundering of proceeds.
- Against the backdrop of the case, lawyer Oleksandr Dydych was arrested, and three senior prosecutors lost their positions.

The Appellate Chamber of the High Anti-Corruption Court rejected the appeal filed by the defense of Serhiy Kropyv, Deputy Head of the International Cooperation Department of the Office of the Prosecutor General. The court upheld the first-instance ruling: the defendant remains in custody, with the alternative of posting a bail of 120 million hryvnias. Thus, the appeal did not change the pre-trial measure previously imposed by the VAKS.

### The Appellate Chamber's decision

Kropyv's defense asked the court to overturn the imposed pre-trial measure or replace it with round-the-clock house arrest with an electronic ankle monitor. In addition, the lawyers and the suspect himself insisted on a substantial reduction of the bail amount — according to the version set out in the case file, to 2 million hryvnias, claiming that this was the maximum sum the official could pay given his declared assets. A prosecutor of the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office opposed the appeal and presented additional arguments from the investigation. In particular, the prosecution refuted Kropyv's claim that he was on an official business trip at the time of his detention on September 4: the investigation found no corresponding documents. Taking these arguments into account, the court left the first-instance ruling unchanged.

### Context: Operation 'Carthage'

As a reminder, on September 6 the VAKS placed Serhiy Kropyv in custody until November 2, with the possibility of posting bail of 120 million hryvnias, whereas the prosecutors had initially sought a sum of 200 million hryvnias. The official is implicated in a large-scale joint operation by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office, known as Operation 'Carthage'. According to the investigators, Kropyv headed a criminal organization that systematically received bribes for 'protection' of the activities of fraudulent call centers and the subsequent laundering of the proceeds.

### Resonance and personnel changes

The investigation into the 'Carthage' case has already led to arrests and personnel changes within the law enforcement bodies. In the course of this case, the VAKS arrested lawyer Oleksandr Dydych — Kropyv's representative and relative. Against the backdrop of the investigation, three senior prosecutors lost their positions: First Deputy Prosecutor General Mariia Vdovychenko submitted her resignation, while officials of the Cherkasy Regional Prosecutor's Office, Viktoriia Dydych and Maksym Shchompel, were dismissed.

### Contradictory data

When the materials are compared, discrepancies emerge in how the sources characterize the defense's position on the bail amount. The main case materials state that the defense sought to reduce the bail to 2 million hryvnias, citing the suspect's declared assets. At the same time, certain media headlines referring to the same hearing phrase the defense's demand differently — in terms of a multiple reduction of the sum (one headline mentions a reduction '60-fold' without fully disclosing the final figure). In addition, there is a discrepancy between the bail amount requested by the prosecution (200 million hryvnias) and the amount actually set by the court (120 million hryvnias). These inconsistencies in figures and wording are reflected in the article as they are, without being reconciled into a single version.

Thus, the appellate instance confirmed the strict pre-trial measure for one of the key defendants in the 'Carthage' case, and the resonance surrounding the investigation continues to be accompanied by personnel changes in the prosecutor's office and new arrests of associated individuals.

## 🔍 Fact-Check Verification

- [Case on the 'protection' of call centers: VAKS keeps Kropyv in custody](https://www.rbc.ua/ukr/news/sprava-krishuvannya-kol-tsentriv-vaks-zalishiv-1789570893.html) - Подтверждает отказ апелляции и сохранение меры пресечения для Кропивы по делу о крышевании колл-центров.
- [VAKS Appellate Chamber leaves Kropyv's pre-trial measure unchanged](https://ru.interfax.com.ua/news/general/1205453.html) - Подтверждает, что апелляционная палата ВАКС оставила меру пресечения без изменений.
- ['Carthage' case: VAKS appeal keeps Kropyv in arrest, who sought to reduce bail 60-fold ...](https://www.pravda.com.ua/rus/news/2026/09/16/8053757/) - Подтверждает арест и контекст дела «Карфаген»; заголовок содержит усеченную формулировку о снижении залога («в 60 ...»), что расхождается с версией о 2 млн грн и вынесено в блок противоречий.
- [VAKS sends 'Carthage' case defendant Muza into custody with the possibility of release on bail of 20 ...](https://strana.today/news/511851-vaks-vzjal-elizavetu-ivakhnenko-pod-strazhu.html) - Использован только как контекст по операции «Карфаген» (другой фигурант дела); не влияет на факты по Кропыве.

## ❓ FAQ

### Q: What pre-trial measure was imposed on Serhiy Kropyv after the appeal?
**A:** The VAKS Appellate Chamber kept him in custody with the alternative of posting bail of 120 million hryvnias, without changing the first-instance ruling.

### Q: What did Kropyv's defense seek?
**A:** The defense asked to overturn the pre-trial measure or replace it with round-the-clock house arrest with an electronic ankle monitor, as well as to reduce the bail amount (according to the case file — to 2 million hryvnias).

### Q: What is the essence of the charges in the 'Carthage' case?
**A:** According to the investigators, Kropyv headed a criminal organization that systematically received bribes for protecting fraudulent call centers and laundered the proceeds obtained.

### Q: What personnel changes took place against the backdrop of the case?
**A:** First Deputy Prosecutor General Mariia Vdovychenko submitted her resignation; officials of the Cherkasy Regional Prosecutor's Office, Viktoriia Dydych and Maksym Shchompel, were dismissed; lawyer Oleksandr Dydych was also arrested.