Kyiv Pechersky District Court has granted the request of the Prosecutor General's Office of Ukraine to choose arrest as a pre-trial preventive measure for fugitive Ukrainian businessman Serhiy Kurchenko, the PGO's press service reported.

"On January 3, 2017, the investigating judge of Pechersky District Court of Kyiv issued a ruling to grant a repeated request by the Prosecutor General's Office to choose a preventive measures in the form of detention," the press service reported.

The Prosecutor General's Office reiterates that they are holding a pre-trial investigation into Kurchenko on suspicion of establishing and managing a criminal organization and misappropriating property using state-run and private banking institutions, state-owned enterprises of the fuel and energy sector in a large scale. The activities of the criminal organization have inflicted losses to the state amounting to more than UAH 7 billion.

As reported, the Prosecutor General's Office of Ukraine suspects Kurchenko of committing grievous crimes as the head of a criminal group in 2010 and early 2014 in the area of business operations with liquefied gas. In particular, during this period Kurchenko headed an organized criminal group through which he arranged the illegal seizure of state-owned liquefied gas produced by PJSC Ukrgazvydobuvannia and PJSC Ukrnafta and worth UAH 2.2 mln. The liquefied gas was bought at specialized auctions at understated price, allegedly to provide for the needs of the public. Then, this liquefied gas was sold to Kurchenko-controlled business entities at market prices.

As a result of these actions, the state suffered damage totaling more than UAH 2 billion.

Kurchenko has been on the international wanted list since March 2014.

His property and other assets totaling over UAH 2.8 billion have been arrested. The pretrial investigation is underway.