oleksandr tymoshenko arrested

three days after the arrest of her husband, embattled deputy prime minister yulia tymoshenko on aug. 21 claimed his detention was engineered by political rivals who oppose her efforts to fight energy sector corruption.

oleksandr tymoshenko, a board member of energy company united energy systems of ukraine (uesu), and uesu's first deputy general director, valery falkovych, were arrested on orders from the general prosecutor's office on aug. 18.

deputy prosecutor general mykola obikhod said that the two executives have been arraigned on charges of embezzling $800,000 in public funds through the export of rolled metal to asian countries during the 1990s. a criminal case against the two has been filed, he said.

in addition, falkovych is charged with forging documents and smuggling russian gas worth hr 3 billion in 1996 and 1997 under the aegis of uesu, which obikhod said had close ties with russian defense ministry officials and former prime minister pavlo lazarenko, who is awaiting trial on charges of money laundering in the united states. the next hearings on lazarenko's case in san francisco were scheduled for aug. 24.

yulia tymoshenko told interfax-ukraine on aug. 21 that her husband's arrest was part of a plot by powerful business interests to regain control over ukraine's fuel and energy sector.

"the most modest estimates indicate that, as a direct result of government actions, up to hr 5 billion a year are taken out of the shadow economy and directed to enterprises that either produce or process fuels," tymoshenko said.

she said that the wealth accumulated in the shadow economy was being used to exert political pressure on bureaucrats at all levels to destroy her reputation and force her from office.

since being appointed deputy prime minister of ukraine's energy sector in january, tymoshenko has launched a broad campaign to root out corruption within the sector. that campaign has focused on eliminating barter transactions while increasing the level of cash payments between distributors and generators.

while prime minister viktor yushchenko has largely supported her efforts, president leonid kuchma has frequently criticized tymoshenko, saying she has not done enough to pull the energy sector out of its years-long crisis and, most recently, accusing her of overstepping her bounds in negotiating a gas-supply agreement with turkmenistan.since being appointed deputy prime minister of ukraine's energy sector in january, tymoshenko has launched a broad campaign to root out corruption within the sector. that campaign has focused on eliminating barter transactions while increasing the level of cash payments between distributors and generators.

while prime minister viktor yushchenko has largely supported her efforts, president leonid kuchma has frequently criticized tymoshenko, saying she has not done enough to pull the energy sector out of its years-long crisis and, most recently, accusing her of overstepping her bounds in negotiating a gas-supply agreement with turkmenistan.

tymoshenko, who learned of her husband's arrest only on aug. 21, said she could not rule out being arrested herself.

"after this incident, nothing would surprise me," said tymoshenko, who said she would appeal to ukraine's supreme court to release her husband from temporary confinement.

[august 2000]