Lutsenko: Saakashvili was preparing coup financed by Yanukovych

Ukraine’s Prosecutor General Yuri Lutsenko has announced at a briefing in Kiev that actions organized by former president of Georgia Mikheil Saakashvili were paid for by the team of Viktor Yanukovych and their aim was to overthrow the government in Ukraine.

According to him, Saakashvili’s activities were financed by representatives of Yanukovych’s team, for instance, businessman Sergey Kurchenko. As a proof, Lutsenko made public an audio recording of a conversation that Saakashvili and Kurchenko allegedly had. In the conversation, Saakashvili thank the counterpart for financial aid.

As Lutsenko said, Yanukovych paid money to finance protest actions of Saakashvili “aimed at government takeover and assistance to members of the Yanukovych-Kurchenko criminal group to have the criminal procedures against them stopped and to regain control over their assets.”

Lutsenko specified that Saakashvili’s team was given about $500,000 for their provocative acts.

To remind, earlier this day, there was a search in Saakashvili’s apartment in Kiev. Saakashvili climbed to the roof of an eight-story building where he lives and threatened to jump down. Later he was detained and taken out of the building by law enforcers.

In response, his supporters organized rallies, blocked the minivan and pierced the tires. The law enforcers cannot take him away, clashes between Saakashvili’s supporters and law enforcers resumed. The police used tear gas, additional troops of the National Guard are pulled to the scene.