The Security Service of Ukraine (SSU) and the Prosecutor General's Office are conducting searches at three regional offices of the National Police in connection with an investigation into the cover-up of "porn offices."
Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko has announced this, according to the Ukrainian News agency.
A large-scale operation to rid the National Police system of corruption is underway in three regions. According to the investigation, the leadership of regional police units in the Ivano-Frankivsk, Ternopil, and Zhytomyr Regions may have facilitated the unimpeded operation of a network of so-called “porn offices.”
These are premises where erotic and pornographic video content was illegally created, produced, and distributed online.
The goal of the operation is to identify all officials who may have been involved in the scheme, verify each person’s role, and provide a legal assessment of the actions of police leaders who, instead of combating crime, may have facilitated its cover-up.
According to Kravchenko, the intermediary in the scheme was the driver of one of Ukraine’s deputy interior ministers. Using his connections among the National Police leadership, he negotiated with officials to ensure they would not interfere with the operations of such “porn offices.”
In exchange for a monthly bribe, police officials were required to refrain from taking enforcement action, not document offenses, not shut down illegal activities, and provide advance warning of potential inspections.
The “subscription fee” amounted to USD 20,000 per month for the leadership of the regional police unit. An additional USD 5,000 went to the intermediary. To conceal the scheme, its participants used code words, communicated via messaging apps, and discussed the details of their agreements in private. Several instances of money transfers were documented during the investigation.
In February 2026, the intermediary received USD 45,000. According to the investigation, part of these funds was intended for the police leadership of one of the regions, and part was for the intermediary himself. In April 2026, he received another USD 25,000: USD 20,000 was to be transferred to one of the deputy chiefs of the regional police department, while USD 5,000 remained with the intermediary.
It was also documented that USD 20,000 was transferred to a police official in another region through a close associate who was unaware of the criminal intent. Subsequently, another transfer of USD 20,000 to the same official was recorded. Today, the intermediary was detained after receiving another installment of USD 25,000. In this instance, USD 20,000 was also intended for one of the regional police chiefs, and USD 5,000 was for the intermediary.
Currently, as part of the criminal proceedings, one of the law enforcement officers has been notified of suspicion under Part 4 of Article 368 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine: the receipt by a public official in a position of responsibility of an unlawful benefit of an especially large amount for failing to act by using his official position, committed by a group of persons acting in prior conspiracy.
The operation is being conducted with the assistance of the Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine and the Internal Security Department of the National Police.
Urgent investigative actions are ongoing.
As the Ukrainian News agency earlier reported, reports regarding the resignation of National Police Chief Vyhivskyi are untrue.
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