KIEV, March 22 – Former President Leonid Kuchma will be investigated for his alleged role in the September 2000 murder of journalist Heorhiy Gongadze, deputy prosecutor general Rinat Kuzmin said Tuesday.

The move comes as a surprise after the prosecutors tried for months to shield Kuchma by shifting the focus of investigation against Olekskiy Pukach, a former police officer and the alleged killer of Gongadze.

The Kuchma case may now have sweeping political and business impact in Ukraine.

Parliamentary Speaker Volodymyr Lytvyn will most likely feel the pressure. He serviced as the chief of staff under Kuchma in 2000 and his involvement in the Gongadze case had long been suspected.

Another potential casualty is Viktor Pinchuk, Ukraine’s second wealthiest businessman and Kuchma’s son-in-law. The case against Kuchma may be used as leverage in forcing Pinchuk to sell some of his assets to rival business groups that now dominate the government.

Kuchma will have to show up at the Prosecutor General’s Office on Wednesday for an interrogation, according to the Ukrayina Foundation, which is led by the former president.

“The criminal investigation was opened against Leonid Danilovych Kuchma,” Kuzmin said at a press conference. “He is suspected of involvement in illegal acts and the murder of journalist Heorhiy Gongadze and illegal actions against journalist Podolskiy.”

Kuchma’s travel was also restricted, Kuzmin said.

“Enough evidence has been collected that suggest Leonid Kuchma has bee involved in the crimes against Gongadze and Podolskiy,” Kuzmin said. Kuchma is “suspected of exceeding his authority and giving an illegal order to police that had led to the murder of the journalist.”

The announcement of the investigation against Kuchma came as surprise to many politicians.

“This sounded really unexpected,” Lytvyn said.

Lytvyn on Sunday suggested creating a special committee to investigate privatization of UkrTelecom after the national phone company had been purchased for $1.3 billion allegedly by five Austrians.

Some lawmakers believe that people from President Viktor Yanukovych’s circle may have been involved in the privatization.

Another potential business impact may be on Pinchuk, whose business empire includes steel pipe making company Interpipe, television and other media assets.

“The opening of the criminal case against Kuchma allows putting pressure on businesses associated with him, such as Interpipe, on Pinchuk,” Viktor Nebozhenko, the head of the Ukrainskiy Barometer political consultancy, said.

Pukach, a former head of surveillance department at the Internal Affairs Ministry and the alleged killer of Gongadze, was arrested in July 2009 after six-year man hunt.

Pukach is seen by investigators as the only person who can lead investigation to those who had actually ordered the murder, which had shaken Ukraine’s political landscape since September 2000.

Kuchma and Lytvyn were alleged by Mykola Melnychenko, Kuchma’s former bodyguard, of conspiring against Gongadze. Kuchma and Lytvyn have repeatedly denied the allegations. (tl/ez)