The responsibility for the investigation into the former leaders of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine lies with the Interior Ministry, and at the Interior Minister's request, the police will lead the investigation, Prosecutor General of Ukraine Viktor Shokin has said.

"Interior Minister [Arsen Avakov] addressed me [with the request] that the police investigate this case. I fulfilled the request with pleasure, and thus all the consequences of the investigations lie on the Interior Ministry," Shokin said in an exclusive interview with Interfax-Ukraine.

"I told the minister [Avakov] that I wished him success in catching corrupt officials and proving their guilt. But I warned him from saying in a month or two that [he is] sorry, it's under the authority of prosecution [agencies], you can have your case back," Shokin said.

According to him, the prosecution agencies are responsible for the procedural part of the investigation.

Shokin said that according to the law, prosecution agencies can pass the investigation onto any law enforcement agency, and since the minister Avakov requested as such, the prosecutor's office was happy to oblige

As reported, Serhiy Bochkovsky and his deputy Vasyl Stoyetsky were arrested at a Cabinet meeting on March 25 on suspicion of corruption and were immediately dismissed from the State Service for Emergency Situations.

On March 28, Kyiv's Pechersky District Court granted the investigation's request on taking Bochkovsky into pre-trial custody for two months and set a UAH 1.184 million bail. The amount of bail is equal to the sum of the financial damage allegedly caused Bochkovsky, according to the investigation.

Stoyetsky was placed into pre-trial custody for two months as well; his bail was set at UAH 1.182 million.