2023-05-11 12:38:27
US Justice Minister Merrick Garland authorized the transfer of expropriated Russian funds to the state coffers of Ukraine for the first time.
The official said in a statement on Wednesday that the Konsztantyin Malofejev money seized from a Russian businessman is being sent to rebuild Ukraine in response to Moscow’s February 2022 war in the country.
“While this is the first transfer in which the United States uses confiscated Russian funds to rebuild Ukraine, it will not be the last.” – stated the chief prosecutor.
Last year, the US Department of Justice accused Malofeev of evading sanctions. At the time, prosecutors alleged that the businessman provided financial support to Russians promoting separatism in Crimea.
Garland then announced that “several million dollars were seized from his accounts at an American financial institution, which money can be traced back to sanctions violations”.
Washington and its allies have been arguing since last year about the issue of the appropriation of Russian funds. The subject of disagreement is, among other things, whether it is legal to use such frozen assets to help Ukraine.
The US Department of Justice has created a special unit called KleptoCapture to help enforce sanctions against Russian government officials and businessmen, targeting their yachts, planes, real estate and other assets.
In December, the US Congress passed a law directing the State Department to award certain proceeds of confiscated Russian assets to Ukraine. The first such transfer was approved in February and involved $5.4 million seized from Malofeyev.
Moscow has called Western attempts to transfer seized assets to Ukraine barbaric, saying Russia will retaliate if necessary. Moscow “to steal” he also qualified the freezing of his assets and warned that it violates international law.
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