The arrest of former Head of the State Customs Service of Ukraine Anatoliy Makarenko has been extended for two months, Batkivschyna Party leader and former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko has told reporters.
She announced this at the Kyiv Court of Appeals on Wednesday, which is considering former Interior Minister Yuriy Lutsenko’s appeal against the decision to change pre-trial restrictions against him from a travel ban to arrest.
As reported, Makarenko was arrested late in June 2010. On December 9, 2010, the Kyiv Court of Appeals extended the arrest of Makarenko and former First Deputy Head of Naftogaz Ukrainy Ihor Didenko until January 10, 2011.
On June 8, the Arbitration Institute of the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce obliged Naftogaz Ukrainy to return 11 billion cubic meters of gas to RosUkrEnergo and pay it a fine in commodity form of 1.1 billion cubic meters of gas in line with its contract.
The Security Service of Ukraine completed its pretrial investigation into a criminal case against officials of NJSC Naftogaz Ukrainy and the State Customs Service on the unlawful seizure of gas belonging to Swiss-based gas trader RosUkrEnergo and the illegal customs clearance of the gas in February-March 2009.
During the investigation, enough evidence was gathered to confirm the guilt of the defendants, according to the SBU. At present, the defendants and their lawyers are getting acquainted with the materials of the case to fulfill the requirements of Articles 218-220 of the Criminal and Procedural Code of Ukraine, and after this the case will go to court.
So far Makarenko, Didenko, and the former chief of the Energy Regional Customs, Taras Shepitko, have been arrested in relation to the case.
