May 14 2003, 09:48 UNIAN

Ukrainian Orthodox Church asks Kuchma to assist in bailing out L. Kozachenko

The Bishop of Pereyaslav-Khmelnytsky, the Vicar of Kyiv Metropolitan See, the Bailiff of Ukrainian Orthodox Church Mitrofan has directed an open letter to the President of Ukraine Leonid Kuchma with a request to support the proposition of People's Deputies to release ex-Vice-Prime-Minister of Ukraine Leonid Kozachenko on bail, UNIAN news agency informed.

"L. Kozachenko is known to be a faithful son of Ukraine, a professional, a public figure and a Maecenas, who managed to do a lot for development of the country's economy and rebirth of the Ukrainian Orthodoxy", Mitrofan has written in his letter.

He noted that L. Kozachenko "must use his right for public explanation and defence of his position".

The Office of General Prosecutor arrested former Vice-Prime-Minister for Agriculture L. Kozachenko on March 24 on the suspicion of office abuse in the period of his vice-premiership and tax evasion for the sum of 584,940 hryvnias while holding the position of general director of a commercial firm - Joint Venture "Ukrahrobusiness" (5.33 hryvnias = $1).

On April 7 Kozachenko was accused of one more crime - bribery in especially large scales.