In the wake of the Ukraine war, money from Russian oligarchs was confiscated. Now the first part of the money is flowing to Ukraine.
Frankfurt – Vladimir Putin's war of aggression against Ukraine has been going on for almost 15 months. Since then, Russian oligarchs have also been targeted by Western states. Many of them are considered financiers and supporters of Putin.
Some of them had their funds frozen or confiscated. U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland has now announced that a first batch of the money will now be paid out to Ukraine. This is reported by The Kyiv Independent, an English-language Ukrainian online medium, citing the Reuters news agency.
US in Putin's war: confiscated oligarch money now goes to Ukraine for the first time
The money that is now being transferred to Ukraine comes from Konstantin Malofeyev. The Russian oligarch is accused of financing Russian occupiers during Russia's annexation of Crimea in 2014, according to The Kyiv Independent.
He initiated the first payment of confiscated oligarch money to Ukraine: US Attorney General Merrick Garland. © IMAGO/Julia Nikhinson - Pool via CNP
The disbursement is the equivalent of 4.7 million euros. Garland approved this amount back in February, after meeting with Andriy Kostin, the Prosecutor General of Ukraine.
U.S. assures: More oligarchs' money will go to Ukraine
Back in December 2022, the US Senate had decided that seized assets of Russian oligarchs could be passed on to Ukraine. Garland reportedly assured that it will not be the last payments to Ukraine.
According to a survey by Forbes magazine, the number of Russian billionaires is increasing despite the Ukraine war. However, in recent months there have been repeated mysterious deaths among Russian oligarchs – the banker German Gorbunzov does not assume a coincidence.
Kremlin critic Mikhail Khodorkovsky suspected in an interview with IPPEN. MEDIA even received a sentence for some of the deaths, along with only apparently frozen funds. (hko)
