KIEV, October 10 (RIA Novosti) - The Ukrainian General Prosecutor's Office announced Monday that it had launched criminal proceedings against the former secretary of Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council Petro Poroshenko.
Poroshenko is being charged with interfering with the economic activity of two companies constructing a building in the center of Kiev.
If convicted, Poroshenko faces five to ten years in prison for "acts by a group of persons or an official preventing legal economic activity, causing substantial material damages," according to the Ukrainian Criminal Code.
In September, the General Prosecutor's Office investigated allegations of corruption made by former State Secretary of Ukraine Oleksandr Zinchenko.
Zinchenko resigned from his post September 3, attributing his decision to the corrupt conduct of Poroshenko, first presidential aide Oleksandr Tretyak and leader of Our Ukraine faction Mykola Martynenko.
Poroshenko filed a lawsuit against Zinchenko.
