The winner of the tender to select head of national energy company Ukrenergo Serhiy Zuyev has said the opening of a criminal case against him was initiated by MP from Petro Poroshenko Bloc Ihor Kononenko, MP Serhiy Leshchenko has said.

"Zuyev has announced at a meeting of the committee that the case against him was initiated personally by Kononenko. Our committee invites Energy Minister Nasalyk [Ihor] to one of the next meetings to explain what is going on with this appointment," Leshchenko said on Facebook on Wednesday.

He said that Zuyev said at the meeting of the anti-corruption committee that Prosecutor General's Office of Crimea opened a criminal case against him over high treason and accused him of financing subversive operations against Ukraine.

The tender to select the new head of Ukrenergo was announced on February 19, 2016. On May 24, the committee of the Economic Development and Trade Ministry selected Zuyev the winner of the tender.

Later Kyiv's district administrative court banned Ukraine's Cabinet of Ministers from approving candidate Zuyev for the post of Ukrenergo head.