Wanted former Ukrainian minister freed from Czech custody

Former Ukrainian economy minister Bohdan Danilishin was released from custody on Friday, a day after he was granted asylum in the Czech Republic, a prison service spokesman told the German Press Agency dpa.

Danilishin is accused in Ukraine of abuse of power, embezzlement and graft. The crimes were allegedly committed while he was in office between 2007 and 2010.

Czech authorities would not comment on the reasons for granting him asylum.

Ukrainian authorities say that Danilishin embezzled 627,000 dollars earmarked for construction at Kiev's Boryspil airport and awarded more than 1.4 million dollars in contracts to insiders.

An ally of the former premier and opposition leader, Yulia Tymoshenko, Danilishin has denied any wrongdoing, saying that charges against him were politically motivated.

Tymoshenko and other members of her cabinet also face corruption accusations in Ukraine.

Danilishin had been in Czech custody since mid-October, when he was detained in the Czech Republic on the grounds of an international warrant. Before he was granted asylum, Czech courts had repeatedly refused to release him on bail.