KIEV, Ukraine -- Ukraine's security police detained on Sunday former Interior Minister Yuriy Lutsenko and took him to a pre-trial detention center, his spokeswoman said citing his lawyer.
Yuriy Lutsenko has been taken to a pre-trial detention center of Ukraine's security service," Inna Kisil said. She earlier said Lutsenko was held by around ten Ukraine's security police agents on Sunday.
Lutsenko is accused of embezzling government funds and abusing power. He also faces charges of overpaying his driver and awarding him ranks.
Earlier this week, the former Ukrainian first deputy justice minister in Yulia Tymoshenko's government, Yevgeny Korniychuk, was detained after being questioned over the case involving Ukraine's state gas monopoly Naftogaz.
Criminal cases have also been initiated against several other Tymoshenko government officials.
Tymoshenko herself has been summoned to the Prosecutor General's Office for questioning several times over the past few weeks. Last week, a criminal case was initiated against the opposition leader over abuse of power.
Tymoshenko is believed to have spent government money intended for ecological programs to pay pensions.
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