US Attorney General Merrick Garland has announced the first transfer of seized money from a Russian oligarch to Ukraine. The money seized from influential Russian billionaire Konstantin Malofeev will go to the US State Department “in support of the Ukrainian people,” Garland told CNN.
Ukrainian Attorney General Andriy Kostin was also present at the announcement in Washington. According to him, the transfer includes $5.4 million (equivalent to about 4.7 million euros), which would be used for the “reconstruction of Ukraine”. According to Garland, Malofeev’s assets were seized in April 2022 after he was accused of circumventing existing sanctions against him.
Billionaire tried to evade sanctions
At the time, the Garland Department – which is also the US’s top federal law enforcement agency – said the billionaire had tried to circumvent those sanctions to “secretly” buy media in Europe. Malofeev is considered one of the main financiers of pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine.
People should be compensated for damage
“All Ukrainians have suffered in one way or another from this war,” Ukrainian Attorney General Kostin wrote on Twitter about the now-announced transfer of millions from Washington. It is “our duty to ensure that the Ukrainian people receive compensation for the entire, enormous damage”. Accountability to those responsible for the Russian war goes hand in hand with “the perpetrator pays for the damage done”.
Interactions with Sanctioned Bans
Since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the US has launched numerous sanctions against Russian companies or citizens. The sanctions aim, among other things, to freeze the assets of those affected in the US. In addition, U.S. banks are prohibited from engaging in all interactions with sanctioned banks.
Source: Krone
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