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Former Ukraine premier Tymoshenko defiant on corruption case

Other News Materials 20 December 2010 18:29 (UTC +04:00)

Former Ukrainian prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko was defiant of her critics on Monday, declaring she would fight a government corruption case against herself to the bitter end, dpa reported.

   "I am not afraid of any investigation. I will not hide in hospitals, and I am not going to leave the country," Tymoshenko told reporters in Kiev before meeting with a senior prosecutor.

   Tymoshenko was summoned to the prosecutor general's office in connection with allegations she had misused some 221 million dollars of state funds while heading the government in 2009.

   "I will defend myself absolutely clearly and openly," she said. "I fear nothing."

   Tymoshenko has repeatedly said she has done no wrong and has blamed the investigation on an alleged vendetta by her main political adversary, President Viktor Yanukovych.

   "But if will be worse for him if this investigation goes forward," she said. "That is why I am calling for a full public hearing. I want everything out in the open."

   The prosecutor general's office last week attempted to serve Tymoshenko with formal charges that she had abused her office in 2009 by redirecting millions of dollars of carbon credits to cover a gap in the national pension fund.

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