The Pechersky district court of Kyiv on Monday decided to arrest former Ukrainian Interior Minister and People's Self-Defense Party leader Yuriy Lutsenko for two months.
The court issued such a ruling after considering a petition by the Prosecutor General’s Office to change pre-trial restrictions against Lutsenko from a ban on his travelling outside Kyiv to his arrest.
The Prosecutor General’s Office of Ukraine insisted that Lutsenko be arrested due to his reluctance to examine the materials of a criminal case opened against him, despite the fact that the investigation has already ended.
As reported, the Prosecutor General’s Office of Ukraine has completed a pre-trial investigation on charges brought against former Ukrainian Interior Minister Yuriy Lutsenko and his driver Leonid Prystupliuk of the embezzlement of budgetary funds. Lutsenko was charged under part 5, Article 191 (the large-scale embezzlement of state property through the abuse of office, under a preliminary collusion by a group of individuals) and part 3, Article 365 (the abuse of office, which led to grave consequences) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.
The Prosecutor General’s Office charged Lutsenko with the misappropriation and embezzlement of property through the abuse of office. The issue concerns the assignment of an extra pension payment of UAH 40,000 to his driver. Lutsenko was ordered not to leave Kyiv.
On December 20, the press service of the Prosecutor General’s Office reported that after the completion of a pretrial investigation, Lutsenko had not started to study the case. The Prosecutor General’s Office invited him to immediately begin to examine the case materials, otherwise, his pre-trial restrictions will be changed from a travel ban to arrest.
On December 26, Lutsenko was detained near his house.
It became clear on Monday that a criminal case had been opened against Lutsenko over the abuse of office and that he had been detained as part of an investigation into this case.
