Interior Minister of Ukraine Arsen Avakov sees signs of protectionist practices used by national energy company Ukrenergo in favor of businessman Konstantin Grigorishin, emerged in the change of the conditions of a tender to buy transformers.

"I address my colleague Volodymyr Demchyshyn to react statements in media regarding the decisions made at the end of last year: protectionist practices in favor of Zaporizhtransformator [ZTR], when the conditions were changed by UAH 2 billion in favor of Grigorishin. I don't know if this is true or it was exaggerated… I think that this could be a crime as it looks like now," he said at a cabinet meeting on Wednesday.

Reports have recently appeared in mass media that Ukrenergo refused to make prepayments during the purchase of 22 transformers, while this significantly changes conditions for participants in the relevant tender, especially for foreign suppliers.

Earlier the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine has suspended a tender of Ukrenergo to buy transformers under a claim of ZTR.