The National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) is conducting searches at the homes of senior officers of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), including General Serhiy Duka and Colonel Anton Kravchuk. The investigative actions are linked to an investigation into the activities of an organisation suspected of systematically passing bribes to law enforcement officers in exchange for protection of illegal call centres and other unlawful businesses.
WHAT IS KNOWN ABOUT THE SEARCHES AT SBU LEADERSHIP
On 4 November 2026, detectives carried out investigative actions at the premises of three senior SBU officers. The searches were conducted on the basis of a ruling by an investigating judge of the High Anti-Corruption Court (HACC). SBU special units also arrived at the scene.
Separately, NABU reported that one of the senior officers of the security service obstructed the detectives' work. According to the Bureau, the official did not allow the investigators access to the search site and threatened to use a firearm.
Ukrainian media, citing their own sources, identified this officer as Serhiy Duka. According to Ukrainska Pravda, searches were also conducted at the premises of the head of the SBU's Main Directorate of Internal Security, Anton Kravchuk. NABU's official statement did not disclose the names of all the officers at whose premises investigative actions were carried out.
WHY SERHIY DUKA'S NAME HAD ALREADY FEATURED IN THE NABU SCANDAL
Duka holds the position of first deputy head of the SBU's Department for the Protection of National Statehood. In 2023, the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, conferred on him the rank of brigadier general.
His name was also linked to the events of July 2025, when the SBU conducted large-scale searches at the premises of NABU officers. According to media reports, Duka was one of the key executors of those investigative measures.
Following the searches, two NABU detectives — Ruslan Mahamedrasulov and Viktor Gusarov — were taken into custody.
WHAT THE "CARTHAGE" OPERATION CONSISTS OF
According to NABU and SAPO, members of the organisation under investigation had established a systematic channel for passing improper benefit to senior law enforcement officers. In return, they ensured the unimpeded operation of fraudulent call centres and other illegal businesses.
According to the investigation, serving officers of the SBU, the National Police, the Office of the Prosecutor General, as well as representatives of the criminal world, participated in the alleged scheme.
According to the investigation materials, the organisation was headed by one of the heads of a unit of the Office of the Prosecutor General. Its members, as the investigation alleges, provided protection for illegal call centres from criminal prosecution and obstructed investigations.
HOW MUCH MONEY FEATURES IN THE INVESTIGATION
The total amount of documented improper benefit within the "Carthage" operation exceeded UAH 1 billion.
In October 2026, NABU and SAPO served a suspicion notice on another member of the alleged organisation — a former head of one of the departments of the Office of the Prosecutor General. According to the investigation, he was responsible for liaising with representatives of illegal call centres, receiving money, ensuring secrecy and recruiting other members.
NABU previously reported that the suspects had laundered funds through the purchase of real estate, jewellery and expensive property. More than UAH 20 million was spent on buying assets, more than UAH 12 million was the minimum market value of property re-registered to third parties, and a further more than UAH 10 million was placed in the accounts of close associates under the guise of legitimate business income.
MENTION OF KAZAKHSTAN IN THE INVESTIGATION
Kazakhstan has already featured in the investigation materials concerning the activities of Ukrainian call centres. In September 2026, during the consideration of the case of the former head of the cyber department of the Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine, Serhiy Kropyva, the prosecution described his conversation with the president of the "Kharkiv" football club, Bohdan Boyko.
According to the prosecution, on 5 May 2026, Kropyva discussed finding a person who could file an application in Kazakhstan. That application was subsequently intended to be used for international legal cooperation. The prosecutor linked the conversation to a possible attempt to eliminate a competitor who was obstructing the activities of the alleged organisation. It is not specified who exactly in Kazakhstan might have been involved in the contacts discussed.
There is also another episode directly linked to Kazakhstan. On 31 March 2026, in the Ukrainian city of Dnipro, the activities of three call centres were shut down; according to available data, they had been operating against citizens of Kazakhstan, Ukraine and EU countries. The results of the operation were described by the head of the Department for Combating Cybercrime of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Zhandos Suyinbay. As a result, 53 foreign nationals were detained, of whom 8 were arrested.
