Ukraine's Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO) has opened a criminal investigation into the possible official negligence of Cabinet officials in the implementation of measures aimed at counteracting the spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

"Deputy Prosecutor General, head of the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office Nazar Kholodnytsky registered a criminal proceeding on the fact of possible official negligence of officials of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine," SAPO said on Facebook on Monday.

According to the report, on January 31 and February 8, 2020, Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council Oleksiy Danilov sent letters to Prime Minister Oleksiy Honcharuk about the urgent need to limit the export and re-export of products that can be directly or indirectly used in the implementation of anti-epidemic, preventive and therapeutic measures in Ukraine to prevent the spread of COVID-19. The Cabinet ignored the proposals of the NSDC secretary.

According to SAPO, the information on the possible commission of a criminal offense was entered into the Unified Register of Pretrial Investigations on the grounds of a crime under Part 2 of Article 367 of Ukraine's Criminal Code on March 23, 2020. In accordance with Article 214 of the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine, the pretrial investigation was entrusted to investigators of the central office of Ukraine's State Bureau of Investigations (SBI).

Honcharuk served as Prime Minister of Ukraine from August 29, 2019 to March 4, 2020.