KIEV - Ukrainian police have seized 42 kilogrammes of gold and $4.8 million in cash during a search of the home of former energy minister Eduard Stavytsky.
Eduard Stavytsky (right), Ukraine's then-energy minister, shakes hands with Derek Magness, head of Chevron Exploration and Production Europe, at a ceremony last November to sign a $10-billion shale gas production-sharing agreement with the US energy company. (Reuters)
Interior Minister Arsen 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 former president Viktor Yanukovich and he was appointed energy minister in December 2012.
Ukrainian media describe Stavytsky as a member of Yanukovich's inner circle. He could not be reached for comment.
Ukrainian police on Friday also detained the chief executive of the 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.