Andriy Vlasenko, head of the State Food and Grain Corporation, was arrested early Friday morning at Kyiv Zhuliany as he attempted to board a plane out of the country.

On Thursday afternoon, the National Police announced that officials at the company organized a scheme that defrauded the state of $57 million. The charges and the arrest may signal that the government is serious about privatizing the money losing grain trader. Last year, the State Property Fund hired KPMG to prepare the company for sale. For investors, the company’s value lies largely in its grain elevators and Black Sea port terminals.