Ukrainian police seize 42kg of gold in ex-minister’s house

PanARMENIAN.Net - Ukrainian police have seized 42 kilograms of gold and $4.8 million in cash during a search of the apartments of Ukraine's former Energy Minister Eduard Stavytsky, Interior Minister Arsen Avakov said on Saturday, March 22, according to Reuters.

Avakov said the searches had been conducted in connection with a corruption investigation in the energy sector.

"It blew my mind when I received a report on the results this morning. How much would one have to steal, to have such a 'trifle' at home as pocket money," Avakov said in a post on Facebook.

Stavytsky's career blossomed under the presidency of ousted Viktor Yanukovich and was appointed energy minister in December 2012.

Ukrainian media describe Stavytsky as a member of Yanukovych's inner circle.

Ukrainian police on Friday detained another energy official - the chief executive of state energy company Naftogaz, Yevhen Bakulin, as part of the investigation into corruption that it says may have cost the Ukrainian state about $4 billion.

Naftogaz is responsible for the import and distribution of Russian natural gas in Ukraine. It also holds a monopoly on the shipment of gas from Russia's Gazprom via Ukraine to Europe.