USA

U.S. Attorney General OKs transfer of Russian oligarch’s funds to Ukraine

US Attorney General Merrick Garland authorised the first transfer of confiscated Russian assets to Ukraine for reconstruction purposes.

The money in question was taken from Russian oligarch Konstantin Malofeyev by a US court after he was accused of avoiding sanctions. According to a budget amendment passed in December 2022, they may be transferred to Ukraine.

“While this represents the United States’ first transfer of forfeited Russian funds for the rebuilding of Ukraine, it will not be the last,” Garland stated in the statement.

The Manhattan Federal Court District Judge granted permission to the prosecutor’s office in February 2023 to seize US$5.4 million that belonged to Malofeyev.

Malofeyev, the owner of Tsargrad TV, was sanctioned by the US in 2014 after he was alleged to have supported separatists in Crimea. US prosecutors charged him with evading sanctions eight years later.

Prosecutors informed the court towards the end of 2022 that they had the legal authority to seize the funds in Malofeyev’s Sunflower Bank account in Denver because he had attempted to transfer them to a business partner in defiance of US sanctions.

Ihor Petrenko

I'm a passionate journalist based in Ukraine, specialising in covering local news and events from Ukraine for the Western audience. Also, I work as a fixer for foreign media. Whether I write an article, report from the conflict zone or conduct interviews with political leaders and experts, I'm focused on delivering informative, engaging, and thought-generating content.

Recent Posts

Analysis of Viory and Ruptly Reveals Shared Yandex Infrastructure and Russian Traffic Patterns

When Bellingcat published its investigation into the digital connections between Viory and Ruptly, it presented…

1 day ago

Ruptly, Viory and the Russian Media Influence Network: New Bellingcat Investigation Reveals Digital Traces

A new investigation by Bellingcat has uncovered multiple digital connections between Viory, a self-described "Global…

1 day ago

“I Dream of Making Luhansk Ukrainian Again”: How Volodymyr Zhemchuhov Debunks Propaganda About Donbas

Volodymyr Zhemchuhov was born 80 kilometres from the Russian border, speaks Russian as his mother…

1 week ago

Ukraine Ammunition Coalition Shrinks as Nine Countries Pull Funding

The Czech-led initiative that has supplied Ukraine with more than four million large-calibre artillery shells…

2 weeks ago

UK Targets Russian Crypto Networks and Shadow Finance in New Sanctions Push

The UK has announced a new package of sanctions targeting cryptocurrency exchanges and illicit financial…

2 weeks ago

‘Smoke Screen’: Latvia Rejects Russia’s Claim of Rights Violations Against Ethnic Russians

Latvia's foreign ministry has dismissed Moscow's threat to take the Baltic states to the International…

2 weeks ago