A court in the US has allowed prosecutors to confiscate $5.4 million belonging to sanctioned Russian businessman Konstantin Malofeyev, the founder and owner of Tsargrad TV, a pro-Putin Christian Orthodox far-right TV channel, as per Reuters.
Prosecutors said in court papers late last year they were entitled to the money in Malofeyev’s account at Denver-based Sunflower Bank because he sought to transfer it to a business partner in violation of U.S. sanctions.
Malofeyev was sanctioned by Washington in 2014. Since Malofeyev did not contest the forfeiture request, prosecutors said on Thursday the funds should be forfeited by default.
US President Joe Biden signed a law allowing the Department of Justice to transfer some forfeited assets to the State Department to aid Ukraine in late 2022. Andrew Adams, head of the Department’s KleptoCapture task force, said last month that the first forfeited funds could be used to help rebuild war-ravaged Ukraine.
