KIEV, Feb. 7 – Vasyl Onopenko, the head of the Supreme Court whose home was searched by police on Thursday, said Monday he faced “psychological pressure,” but insisted he had no reason to step down.

Onopenko’s home was searched as part of investigation against his daughter, Iryna Onopenko, who had allegedly borrowed about $50,000 in 2008 and never repaid the loan.

The investigation comes two months after Onopenko’s son-in-law, Yevhen Korniychuk, was arrested by the prosecutors on charges of abusing power while a deputy justice minister in 2009.

Both investigations are seen as possible tools of pressure to force Onopenko to resign so that his job could be taken by someone more loyal to President Viktor Yanukovych, analysts said.

The job may become instrumental in the battle for Parliament between the pro-Yanukovych party and opposition groups in October 2012, and possibly even in presidential election due in March 2015.

“Today I don’t have any reason to resign, because the constitution, the law clearly stipulate when I have to resign,” Onopenko said in an interview with ICTV television late Monday.

Yanukovych’s legal sector reform in 2010 created a court system in Ukraine that has become even more dependent on the presidential administration, according to opposition lawmakers.

Onopenko’s most senior position at the Supreme Court - the highest court in the land - may potentially challenge that status-quo.

Onopenko said that he and his wife offered to pay back their daughter’s loan when they had learned about a problem on January 31. But the criminal case was opened by prosecutors the next day, on February 1, underscoring mounting pressure.

Also on Thursday the prosecutors searched the offices of Magisters & Partners, one of the largest law firms in Ukraine, disrupting the company for 14 hours.

Korniychuk is thought to have been affiliated with Magisters before joining the government of former prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko. Korniychuk is married to Onopenko’s another daughter, Lada Onopenko.

“For me it’s very difficult from the point of view of the psychological pressure,” Onopenko said.

The Prosecutor General’ Office on Monday issued a statement in which it had denied speculations that Vasyl Onopenko might be a target of an investigation.

“The prosecutor general’s office has no questions to Vasyl Onopenko, who has neither been charged nor is a suspect in any criminal investigation,” the statement said.

The prosecutors said police searched five homes on Thursday while looking for Iryna Onopenko, including the private house that had been occupied by the head of the Supreme Court. The prosecutors also said they could not trace down the ownership records on the house.

“They found nothing,” Onopenko said. “But a law enforcement officer [during the search] has told me that he was sorry for what they had to do.” (tl/ez)