Head of Odesa Regional State Administration and ex-president of Georgia, Mikheil Saakashvili, has said that Ukrainian Interior Minister Arsen Avakov controls illegal armed formations and finances them due to corruption income.

"This is a man [Arsen Avakov], who indeed controls illegal armed formations, finances them due to corruption income, and I tend not to treat his threats seriously, threats not to my person – I'm not afraid of him – but towards society in general," Saakashvili said at a briefing on the results of the National Reforms Council in Kyiv on Monday.

The Odesa governor said reforms of law enforcement agencies, which are implemented following the Georgian model, will finally reinforce, "and the corruption minister should have no relation to this."