Carthage case: what is known amid the Osypov–Maliuk link claim
After five notices of suspicion, the anti-corruption court ordered two suspects held in custody. The alleged godparenthood link between Andrii Osypov and Vasyl Maliuk remains unconfirmed.
Ukraine’s National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO) announced on November 5, 2026, that five alleged members of a criminal organization had been notified of suspicion in Operation Carthage. That same day, the High Anti-Corruption Court ordered two suspects held in custody. A claim of a godparenthood link between Andrii Osypov and Vasyl Maliuk has emerged alongside the investigation, but NABU and SAPO’s statements do not substantiate it.
In a Telegram post on November 5, Anatolii Sharii described Osypov as a subject of the investigation and as Maliuk’s kum, a relationship through a child’s godparenthood. He also alleged that Osypov had spoken publicly about this connection, but supplied no documents or verifiable recordings of such remarks in the post. This is the author’s allegation, not a fact established by investigators.
NABU announced the organization’s exposure on November 4 and listed five suspects the following day: the alleged organizer, the first deputy head of an SBU department, the head of a National Police department, a deputy section head in the Kyiv region police criminal investigation unit, and a subordinate of the organizer. The bureau’s two statements do not name these individuals; they cannot be used to identify any of them as Osypov.
According to SAPO, on November 5 the court ordered the head of a National Police department held in custody for 60 days, through January 3, 2027, inclusive, with bail set at UAH 15 million. Another suspect, described by investigators as the organizer’s subordinate, was ordered held without bail until January 2, 2027. In its courtroom report, Ukrinform identifies the second suspect as Vitalii Rybalko. These rulings concern pretrial measures and establish neither the suspects’ guilt nor the alleged godparenthood link between Osypov and Maliuk.
According to investigators, the organizer, who had multiple previous convictions, recruited serving senior officials from the SBU, Prosecutor General’s Office and National Police, as well as people from criminal circles. NABU says the alleged organization comprised at least 12 people and that steps are being taken to notify the remaining participants of suspicion.
Investigators allege that law enforcement protection enabled fraudulent call centers targeting Ukrainians and foreigners, drug sales, and the illegal production of cigarettes and counterfeit foreign currency. They are also investigating assaults, abductions and bodily injuries allegedly organized in the group’s interests.
These are suspicions and investigators’ allegations, not findings of guilt by a court. NABU explicitly reiterates the presumption of innocence: guilt must be proved through lawful proceedings and established by a court’s guilty verdict.
Primary sources
Documents and statements this story is based on.
