“Yesterday, she was questioned as a defendant in the presence of her defense counsel,” Pshonka told journalists at a briefing on Wednesday. He said the case was opened on October 12.
The SBU (the Ukrainian successor to the Soviet intelligence agency) are investigating allegations that Tymoshenko embezzled money in the 1990s while she led the United Energy Systems of Ukraine (UESU) Corporation.
A spokesperson for the SBU said that the investigation was sparked by a letter from the Russian Defense Ministry to the Cabinet Ministers of Ukraine, asking for repayment of the corporation’s debt of $405 million.
Officials said that another former prime minister and Tymoshenko ally, Pavlo Lazarenko, is also being investigated in this probe. Lazarenko, who was once ranked by Transparency International as the “eighth most corrupt official in the world” was convicted in 2006 in the United States and is currently serving time there in prison.
Pshonka confirmed to reporters two other investigations have been opened into Tymoshenko’s conduct, one which alleges that the former prime minister misappropriated funds given to the country as part of the Kyoto Protocol, and another that alleges corruption in procuring ambulances for rural hospitals.
Tymoshenko was found guilty last week of abuse of power and sentenced to seven years in prison. She insists that she is innocent and that these charges represent an attempt to banish her from Ukrainian politics.
The European Union (EU) has been monitoring Tymoshenko’s case closely and Tuesday canceled a meeting in Brussels that was supposed to take place Thursday between President Viktor Yanukovich and EU president Herman Van Rompuy and European Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso.
