Ukraine moves to crack down on scam call centers after corruption scandal

Ukraine’s parliament approved tougher criminal penalties for involvement in fraudulent call centers and the theft of personal data, following a corruption scandal in which prosecutors were accused of taking bribes to protect scam operations.

The legislation, passed Wednesday in the Verkhovna Rada, would make it a separate crime to use electronic communications to commit fraud, including schemes involving stolen or misused personal or banking information to take money or other property.

The bill would also criminalize setting up, running or working for a fraudulent call center, as well as recruiting people to participate in such operations.

Those convicted of organizing or working for fraudulent call centers could face seven to 12 years in prison under the legislation, which awaits President Volodymyr Zelensky’s signature.

Scam call centers have become a persistent problem in Ukraine, with organized groups employing teams of operators to contact potential victims and manipulate them into transferring money, making bogus investments or giving criminals access to their bank accounts.

The legislation was first introduced in 2023 but was recently pushed forward following an investigation last week by Ukraine’s anti-corruption agencies into an alleged criminal network involving officials in the Prosecutor General’s Office.

Investigators allege that, beginning in mid-2025, officials collected bribes from fraudulent call centers in exchange for shielding their operations from law enforcement. The centers targeted victims in Ukraine and abroad.

Ukraine’s National Anti-Corruption Bureau, or NABU, said five people have been named as suspects in the case. One was described by investigators as a “trusted associate” and friend of Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko, who resigned amid the accusations.

Kravchenko has categorically denied protecting fraudulent call centers and has not been charged in the case.

On Monday, parliament voted to remove Kravchenko as prosecutor general, and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed a decree formally dismissing him. Kravchenko had left Ukraine the previous day.

In July, Ukrainian cyber police said they dismantled a Kyiv-based call center that allegedly stole more than $500,000 from dozens of Americans. Investigators said the operation recruited English-speaking workers, including people from the U.S., West Africa and European countries, who posed as financial advisers and persuaded victims to invest in fictitious assets.

A month later, authorities launched a broader nationwide crackdown. Police, working with Ukraine’s domestic security service and the Prosecutor General’s Office, said they carried out 411 searches and shut down 94 suspected fraudulent call centers in a single week.