Ukrainian minister denies corruption charges

A Ukrainian deputy-prime minister, Yulia Timoshenko, has fiercely denied charges that she's guilty of tax evasion, smuggling, and falsifying documents,.

Mrs Timoshenko told a news conference that all the charges leveled at her yesterday Friday by public prosecutors were a brutal falsification.

She said corrupt businessmen had orchestrated a political plot against her efforts to clean up corruption in the energy sector.

Prosecutors said they linked the case to outstanding charges against the former prime minister, Pavlo Lazarenko, who was convicted of money laundering in Switzerland last year. In August, Mrs Timoshenko's husband, Olexandr, was convicted and jailed on corruption charges.

Reports say Russian authorities want to interview Mrs Timoshenko in connection with an embezzlement case implicating several senior Russian defence ministry staff.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service