One of the deputies of the head of the State Tax Service appeared in videos recorded by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) as part of the "Cartagena" operation investigation. The recordings were published on the NABU's YouTube channel on Saturday.
The new case concerns not an isolated bribery incident, but an entire vertical: "protection" of a network of fraudulent call centers and the subsequent legalization of funds obtained in Ukraine and abroad.
Who is the "Chancellor"
According to the investigation, the organization is led by a person with the pseudonym "Chancellor" – close to his patron "Boss". "Boss" once headed the State Tax Service of Ukraine and even after his dismissal retained significant influence over the agency.
The NABU claims this influence was used by the criminal group to place a loyal person in the leadership of the tax service: "Chancellor" allegedly personally lobbied the Cabinet of Ministers to appoint his trusted associate to the position of deputy head.
Influence over the deputy head of the tax service was exercised not only through patronage in the appointment, but also through systematic financial bribery, according to NABU recordings.
The Bureau believes that thanks to his authority and connections, "Chancellor" had the direct ability to influence "under-the-table salary" for this deputy head of the tax service – that is, this was not a one-time bribe, but regular payments for loyalty.
A Timeline That Draws Attention
"Chancellor" himself was appointed to a leadership position in the Office of the Prosecutor General in August 2025. The active phase of the NABU investigation and searches in Bukovel, which forced the suspects to hastily cover their tracks, took place on July 16, 2026 – nearly a year later.
During this time, the government managed to appoint two deputies to the head of the tax service – Teodoziya Chernetska and Igor Panchenko. In the NABU recordings, the voice allegedly belonging to the deputy head of the tax service is male, which narrows the circle of suspects, but does not officially establish a specific name.
Tax Service's Response: Suspicion Is Not a Verdict
The State Tax Service stated that it is ready to cooperate with the NABU investigation, but emphasized the need for objective and impartial establishment of facts without premature conclusions.
"Public mentions or even suspicion are not proof of guilt. Only a court can establish guilt," the tax service stated in a comment.
Formally, this is correct: no official suspicions have been announced in the case yet, only audio recordings and the investigation's version. But the story itself is about how after the change of leadership at the tax service, the old network of influence supposedly did not disappear, but simply switched to a shadow mode of management.
Context of Tax Service Leadership
- From December 2024 to June 2025, Ruslan Kravchenko was the head of the State Tax Service, who was later appointed Prosecutor General.
- Since then, Lesya Karnauh has been leading the tax service in the capacity of acting head.
The question now is simple: will the NABU be able to prove the systemic nature of bribery in court, or will the case be limited to sensational recordings without formal suspicions against a specific deputy head of the tax service?
