US Attorney General Merrick Garland has announced that confiscated assets of Konstantin Malofeyev, Russian oligarch and founder of Tsargrad TV channel, will be used to support Ukraine, CNN quotes him as saying.
“Today, I am announcing that I have authorised the first ever transfer of forfeited Russian assets for use in Ukraine,” he said. “These forfeited assets follow the announcement I made last April of the indictment of designated Russian oligarch Konstantin Malofeyev, on charges of sanctions evasions.”
Garland’s Ukrainian counterpart Andriy Kostin also confirmed it. According to him, the $5.4 million of Malofeyev’s seized assets will be allocated to offset the damages caused to Ukraine in the war.
“The handover of confiscated Russian assets to Ukraine for its revival has been approved for the first time in history. I know that it’s only the beginning. I believe that in time there will be no place in the civilised world for Russian oligarchs and their fortunes made on blood,” Kostin wrote.
The news emerged on February 3 that a US court granted the US attorney general’s office permission to seize Malofeyev’s $5.4 million.
The assets in question were discovered on Malofeyev’s account in Sunflower Bank. The New York prosecution claimed that the Russian oligarch attempted to transfer the funds to his business partner in violation of sanctions.
Malofeyev has been targeted by US sanctions since 2014. Reuters writes that the Russian billionaire decided not to challenge the US decision.
