In June, a parliamentary committee accused Kuchma of involvement in dissident journalist Georgiy Gongadze's acid-bath and beheading, and now a former bodyguard has revealed what he says are secret recordings of Kuchma ordering the killing.

Kuchma has immunity from prosecution as president and has sought guarantees from his newly elected successor, Viktor Yushchenko, that neither he nor his relatives will be charged after he leaves office.

That, however, is unlikely as solving the notorious murder was one of Yushchenko's key campaign issues when he said he had "a moral obligation," along with finding out who poisoned Yushchenko himself with dioxin.

At least 11 journalists have died under suspicious circumstances in Ukraine over the past decade during Kuchma's rule.