You're reading: New criminal case opened against Tymoshenko concerning gas contracts (updated)

The Ukrainian Prosecutor General's Office has opened another criminal case against ex-premier Yulia Tymoshenko concerning the gas contracts of 2009, First Deputy Prosecutor General Renat Kuzmin said on Monday.

"There is a criminal case against the ex-premier concerning the exceeding of authority and the abuse of office in the signing of gas contracts in 2009," he said.

Kuzmin estimated the damage done to Ukraine at over Hr 1.5 billion.

Asked whether Tymoshenko might be arrested, he said that was possible if the detective lodged the appeal with the court.

"The detective has studied materials of the Ukrainian Security Service and exposed the unquestionable grounds for opening a criminal case," he said.

The Security Service presented the materials last week (from April 4 to 10), he said.

The then President Viktor Yuschenko told the National Security Council and Prosecutor General’s Office back in February 2009 to find out whether Ukrainian officials’ talks with Russia on natural gas transit and the agreements signed complied with the Ukrainian law.

The two agencies were instructed to investigate whether the talks had been prepared in compliance with the established procedure, and the directives were issued lawfully and observed.

The National Security Committee said in a statement that Tymoshenko’s issuance of instructions to the negotiators and some terms of the contracts signed carried serious risks for Ukraine.

The Security Council described the basic price for gas ($450 per 1,000 cubic meters) in the formula, sealed in the contract between Naftogaz Ukrainy and Gazprom for 2009-19, as economically unfounded and one of the highest in Europe.

Two criminal cases were opened against Tymoshenko earlier, but they were later merged into one.

The ex-premier was charged with the misuse of funds assigned under the Kyoto Protocol and the exceeding of authority and the abuse of office in purchasing Opel Combo medical vehicles on government guarantees.

The Prosecutor General’s Office told Tymoshenko on February 21, 2011, that the pre-trial investigation was over.