You're reading: New criminal case probed against Tymoshenko (updated)

Ukraine's ex-prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko is facing new criminal charges of laying the burden of the United Energy Systems of Ukraine (UESU) corporation's debts on the Ukrainian budget.

"The Main Investigative Directorate of the Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) has launched a criminal case against Ukrainian citizens Tymoshenko and Lazarenko. In particular, Tymoshenko is accused of conspiring, while being the president and actual owner of the United Energy Systems of Ukraine, with former prime minister Lazarenko to misuse Ukrainian public funds in massive quantities by laying the $405.5-million liabilities of the UESU private corporation on the Ukrainian Cabinet of Ministers," head of the Main Investigative Directorate Ivan Derevyanko said at a briefing in Kyiv on Thursday.

On October 12, Tymoshenko was charged with attempted misappropriation of public assets in massive quantities with the use of office (Article 15, Part 2 and Article 191, Part 5 of the Ukrainian Penal Code). A preliminary investigation in the criminal case is still under way.

Tymoshenko became chief of the UESU company in 1995. In 1996, she was elected to the parliament.

It was reported that on June 15, 2011, head of the parliamentary Provisional Investigative Commission Inna Bohoslovska (Party of Regions) said that ex-prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko was dependant on Russia in signing the gas contracts in 2009, because "Tymoshenko’s private companies, which were owned by her and her family, still have outstanding debts to the Russian Defense Ministry of over $405 million."

The Ukrainian Cabinet of Ministers confirmed that a letter has been registered from the Russian Defense Ministry, asking to repay the debt of United Energy Systems of Ukraine.

Later, this information was also confirmed by Deputy Prosecutor General Renat Kuzmin, who said that Tymoshenko owes more than $405 million to Russian companies and the Russian Defense Ministry.

On October 12, Ukrainian Prime Minister Mykola Azarov said that the Cabinet is currently waiting for conclusions from lawyers and law enforcement authorities, regarding the recovery of the UESU debt from Ukraine in favor of the Russian Defense Ministry.

The Pechersky District Court in Kyiv found Ukraine’s ex-prime minister and leader of the Batkivschyna party Yulia Tymoshenko guilty of exceeding her authority while signing gas contracts with Russia and sentenced her to seven years in prison.

Tymoshenko was also banned from holding public office for three years.

The court also granted Naftogaz Ukraine’s lawsuit and obliged Tymoshenko to repay about UAH 1.5 billion in damages to Naftogaz Ukrainy.