Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatseniuk has ordered the state financial inspectorate to carry out comprehensive audits of the top 20 state enterprises, Economic Development and Trade Minister of Ukraine Aivaras Abromavicius has said.

"The prime minister ordered that the state financial inspectorate organizes comprehensive audit of the top 10 and top 20 state companies," he said at a cabinet meeting in Kyiv on Monday.

Abromavicius said this includes companies under the management of the Economic Development and Trade Ministry (including Ukrkhimtransammiak), the Energy and Coal Industry Ministry, and the Agriculture Ministry (including Ukrspyrt and State Food-Grain Corporation).

He said that Yatseniuk gave the order after studying the audit report for Electrotyazhmash state enterprise, which is under the management of the economy ministry.

Abromavicius said that Electrotyazhmash funds have been withdrawn via middleman firms.

He said that the ministry has suspended the head of Electrotyazhmash Volodymyr Hlushakov and plans to hold a tender to select a new director.

Abromavicius said that many state enterprises return the smallest operational profits but have turnovers worth billions, and there is suspicion that schemes revealed in one Electrotyazhmash contract could exist in other companies.