Updated 4:41 p.m. Moscow Time
KIEV, September 30 (RIA Novosti) - A new criminal case on charges of abuse of office has been launched against ousted Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, the country's Prosecutor General Vitaliy Yarema said Tuesday.
Yanukovych is suspected of using state funds to create a dedicated special-purpose communication network on the basis of Ukrainian telephone monopoly Ukrtelecom.
The company was privatized in 2010-2011, and, under the terms of privatization, the network was to be financed by owners, not by the state.
Ukraine's prosecutor general added that Yanukovych was allegedly acting in complicity with a group of former top officials, including Prime Minister Mykola Azarov, Finance Minister Yuriy Kolobov and his First Deputy Anatoly Myarkovsky.
Former President Viktor Yanukovych fled to Russia in February, following mass anti-government protests on Kiev's Independence Square and a subsequent coup. The new Ukrainian authorities have initiated several criminal proceedings against the former leader, particularly accusing him of unlawful enrichment and money laundering.
