Prosecutors close criminal case against Yushchenko's close ally

Ukrainian prosecutors closed the abuse-of-power investigation against President Viktor Yushchenko's close ally, Petro Poroshenko, a spokesman for the Prosecutor General's Office said Friday. "There is nothing criminal in the actions of Poroshenko," spokesman Oleksiy Bebel said.

Poroshenko, the former head of Ukraine's Security and Defense Council, was being investigated for allegedly hindering the business activity of two companies that constructed an expensive apartment building in downtown Kiev.

Bebel said a commission of eight prosecutors had reviewed the evidence and decided to close the case.

Last week, Yushchenko fired top Prosecutor Svyatoslav Piskun, who has blamed his dismissal on the Poroshenko case.

Bebel denied all allegations.

"Our prosecutors did everything according to the law and Constitution; there is no political motive in the case," he said.

The accusations of corruption against Poroshenko surfaced last month and culminated in his resignation and the dismissal of former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, whom Poroshenko accused of being behind the allegations. The government's collapse represented the biggest political crisis to face Yushchenko since he won last year's presidential election, the AP reports.

Opinion polls show that it has significantly damaged support for Yushchenko. Poroshenko, a confectionary tycoon, was one of the top financiers of last year's Orange Revolution.

T.E.