06 August 2024, Tuesday, 13:26 598

In USA, they are trying to confiscate money of former Prime Minister of Ukraine Pavlo Lazarenko for benefit of Ukraine

Editor: Daria Zubkova

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The US Department of Justice is trying to sue USD 200 million from former Prime Minister of Ukraine Pavlo Lazarenko and hand it over to Ukraine.

This was reported by Voice of America with reference to an interview with Mary Butler, head of the International Unit of the Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section at the U.S. Department of Justice.

Lazarenko served 6 years in prison in the state of California, but his punishment is considered more narrow than the charges. Therefore, they want to confiscate his property.

"The case is still not over. But I am pleased to report that we have reached another resolution that brings us closer to being able to obtain a final forfeiture decision. Then Mr. Lazarenko can appeal as much as he wants. But we are still moving forward. It may be about more than USD 200 million. It's a lot of money and a lot of sensitive issues," Butler says.

We will remind, Lazarenko escaped from Ukraine in 1999, but he was detained in the USA. In 2009, he was found guilty of laundering USD 22.85 million there and was imprisoned for 8 years. He was released in 2012.

As Ukrainian News Agency earlier reported, the European Union's plans to confiscate russian assets worth about USD 350 billion are an unprecedented step. However, according to the head of the EU task force Anders Ahnlid, the implementation of this intention is difficult.