Ukrainian state agencies sought to detain the head of the tax and customs service on Thursday (March 2) over the alleged embezzlement of around $75 million - a potentially landmark case after patchy anti-graft efforts from the Western-backed authorities.
Television footage showed an apparently unconscious Roman Nasirov being stretchered into an ambulance and taken to Kiev's Feofania hospital late on Thursday. Local media said he had suffered a heart attack. This could not be independently verified.
The Ukrainian Anti-Corruption Agency suspects that 38-year-old Nasirov helped exiled lawmaker Oleksandr Onishchenko deprive the state of 2 billion hryvnias ($75 million) in tax revenue linked to a gas deal. Nasirov has previously denied all allegations of graft against him. His office would not immediately comment on the matter.
Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman said Nasirov had been relieved of his duties while the case is pending. "It is in our interest that the investigation be impartial and effective. This issue is very important for Ukrainian society today," he said in a government meeting.
If Nasirov is found guilty, it would be the first successful prosecution of a senior official for graft since the 2014 uprising that ushered in a Western-backed leadership promising to tackle endemic corruption.
Stop-start reforms over the past three years have raised concerns that Ukraine's political elite lacked the will to eradicate a deep-rooted system of cronyism and bribe-taking.
Nasirov's lawyer, Andriy Kuzmenko, confirmed that he was being investigated for embezzlement and said he could face up to six years in prison.
Opposition lawmakers and the finance ministry have previously called for Nasirov to be investigated for abuse of office.
