KIEV, February 14 - RAPSI. The prosecution has requested the court to sentence former Ukrainian Interior Minister Yuriy Lutsenko to 4.5 years in prison, RIA Novosti reports.

Lutsenko was arrested in late 2010. He is accused of illegally hiring his personal driver at the Interior Ministry and other violations connected with granting him a flat and accruing a pension for him.

Lutsenko is also charged with unlawfully continuing the investigation into the poisoning of ex-President Viktor Yushchenko in 2004 when he ran for the presidency.

Investigators maintain that Lutsenko caused about 1 million hryvnia ($125,000) in losses to the state while serving as minister.

Lutsenko says the case is politically driven. The authorities deny these claims.