'Mexican' claims $370 million in bribes paid to law enforcement to shield call centers, names officials

In brief

• A man calling himself 'the Mexican' says fraudulent call centers paid Ukrainian law enforcement $350–370 million a year for protection.
• He names officials including Oleh Tatarov, Serhiy Kropyva and former Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko, none of whom has been confirmed as involved by a court.
• NABU declined to comment on the interview, and the claims remain unverified.

Allegations of protection payments

The man, who appears on video without showing his face and speaks Russian, says that about 1,500 fraudulent call centers operated in Ukraine before NABU's Operation Carthage began ("Мексиканець" заговорив: навіщо наркобарон із плівок НАБУ, пов'язаний із ФСБ, пішов на інтерв’ю – Espreso). He puts their combined turnover at roughly $20 billion a year, with money flowing into the country through them ("Мексиканець" заявив про $370 млн хабарів силовикам за прикриття колцентрів і назвав прізвища посадовців – ZN – Українська правда). In his account, an office with 50 staff paid $21,000 a month for protection, split among SBU, National Police and prosecution figures, and larger centers paid proportionally more.

Named officials

He claims a former official in the Prosecutor General's Office, Serhiy Kropyva, collected part of the money and passed some of it to then-Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko, who previously denied any role in shielding call centers. He also accuses Oleh Tatarov, whom he calls the 'hands' of the Presidential Office, of building the protection system and receiving money from the centers ("Мексиканець" і Татаров. Нитка тягнеться до тих самих кабінетів – Espreso). Tatarov was served with a NABU suspicion in 2020, but the case was later transferred to the SBU and stalled.

Background of the case

NABU and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office describe Carthage as a criminal organization of at least 12 people that allegedly bribed senior law enforcement officials so that fraudulent call centers and other illegal businesses could operate freely. Among the suspects is an SBU general, Serhiy Duka, and the bureau says the man it calls the 'Mexican' is a founder and leader of the Khimprom group, a Russian and Ukrainian citizen with alleged ties to the FSB who is wanted internationally («За неповиновение отрубали пальцы». Что такое «Химпром» и как он укоренился в Украине – Zerkalo). NABU says the material made public so far is only the start of the investigation.

Verification and reaction

The interview's subject cannot be verified from the video alone, and the blogger Vasyl Tymoshenko is reportedly in Poland. The man says he confirms his voice on the NABU recordings and offers to cooperate with investigators. The claims about officials have not been confirmed by any court or investigative body. Commentators have warned that giving a wanted figure a platform raises concerns about the media's role.

Amounts cited

• Estimated annual bribes to law enforcement: $350–370 million
• Estimated annual inflow from call centers: about $20 billion
• Monthly protection fee for a 50-person office: $21,000