Turchynov redirects allegations of unlawful gas schemes to Yanukovych's entourage

18:14

First deputy head of the oppositional Batkivschyna (Fatherland) party Oleksandr Turchynov has denied allegations of selling the natural gas from the state reserve at knockdown prices, and argued that this scheme was designed and executed by business structures from the entourage of the current president, Viktor Yanukovych, when he headed the government in 2007.

"The criminal decision to sell the gas stored in the state reserve was taken by the Cabinet led by [President] Yanukovych," Turchynov said in a statement posted on the Batkivschyna party's Web site.

According to him, on July 27, 2007, the government issued adecision to withdraw the natural gas from the management of the State Reserve Committee.

"This decision was taken with the aim of selling the gas to businesses from Yanukovych's entourage. Without the approval of the new government (former Premier Yulia Tymoshenko's government, where Turchynov held the post of first vice premier) the State Reserve sold the gas by auction," Turchynov said.

The next government, which came to power in December 2007, banned the sales of the gas under this scheme, but in early 2010, this gas was written off in line with a court decision, the official said.

Turchynov said that he was ready to answer for all his actions in the office of the first deputy prime minister in the government of former Premier Yulia Tymoshenko. However, the charges against him are a part of a political order of the current government to the Security Service of Ukraine and other security agencies, with the aim of discrediting him and stopping his political activity through bringing criminal proceedings against him, or through his arrest.

The Delo Newspaper reported on Wednesday, with a reference to a source in the Prosecutor General's Office, that Turchynov may be charged with an attempt to sell natural gas from the state reserve at a price four times lower than actual value. According to the newspaper, in October of 2009, Turchynov approved a scheme of repayment of Naftogaz Ukraine's debt to the State Reserve Committee. In return, the committee sold the right to claim 1.3 billion cubic meters of gas from Naftogaz to four private companies.