The key facts
- NABU conducted searches at the head of the Kyiv regional police, Andriy Rubel; no charges have yet been brought
- As part of Operation Carthage, more than 70 searches were conducted and charges were brought against five suspects
- Earlier, the first deputy head of the National Police's strategic investigations department, Volodymyr Tsenov ('Price'), was detained
Searches at the head of the regional police
An anti-corruption investigation in Ukraine has touched the head of the Kyiv regional police, Andriy Rubel: detectives of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau conducted searches at his premises as part of the large-scale Operation Carthage. No charges have yet been brought against the high-ranking law enforcement officer. According to the head of a bureau unit, Oleksandr Abakumov, investigators are examining possible inaction by officials who may have turned a blind eye to crimes (as reported by Life.ru).
Connection to the Tsenov case and the scale of the operation
Rubel previously headed the National Police's strategic investigations department — the very unit where Volodymyr Tsenov worked, who figures in the Carthage case under the codename 'Price'. According to the investigation, Tsenov and other law enforcement officials may have provided cover for a criminal organization engaged in fraudulent call centers, drug trafficking and other illegal schemes. Life.ru previously reported the detention of Tsenov; according to Ukrainska Pravda, which the outlet cites, he appears in NABU recordings under the codename 'Price', and the investigation suggests he helped provide protection for the call centers from inspections and criminal prosecution.
A nationwide operation and personnel consequences
The operation has taken on a nationwide scale: this week NABU conducted more than 70 searches at SBU units, the police, prosecutor's offices, courts and currency exchange points. Investigators believe that some employees of law enforcement agencies received money for non-interference in the group's activities. Charges have already been brought against five suspects, including high-ranking SBU and National Police officers, as well as alleged members of the criminal organization. Against the backdrop of the investigation, the SBU announced the dismissal of two senior employees. Thus, the searches at Rubel's premises expand the circle of persons under scrutiny: if Tsenov was previously the one publicly named, the investigation now also touches the regional police leadership, although no charges have yet been brought against him.
