KIEV, Oct. 10 ??“ Petro Poroshenko, a former secretary of the National Security and Defense Council, will be investigated for abusing powers while apparently trying to extort two companies earlier this year, the Prosecutor General Office reported Monday.

Poroshenko, until recently a close ally of President Viktor Yushchenko, faces between five and 10 years in prison if the prosecutors manage to prove the charges of the wrongdoing, the office said.