Eva Deschamps / February 6, 2023
I am announcing today that I have authorized the first-ever transfer of seized Russian funds to Ukraine," said Merrick Garland, noting that the confiscated assets were the result of the indictment of oligarch Konstantin Malofeyev in April. This money will go to the State Department "to support the Ukrainian people," he said.
Ukrainian Prosecutor General Andriy Kostin, present at his side, welcomed this transfer "in the amount of 5.4 million dollars" to "rebuild Ukraine". "All Ukrainians have, in one way or another, suffered from this war. We must ensure that the Ukrainian people receive compensation for the enormous damage suffered," he wrote on Twitter.
Russian billionaire Konstantin Malofeyev is considered one of the main sources of funding for pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine. He had been indicted for "attempting to evade sanctions by using accomplices to covertly acquire and run media outlets across Europe," according to Washington.
Since the beginning of the invasion of Ukraine, the United States has announced numerous salvos of sanctions against Russian companies or citizens.
The U.S. sanctions include freezing any assets of these individuals in the United States and prohibiting all interactions between them and U.S. banks.