US to use money seized from Russian oligarch Konstantin Malofeyev for Ukraine aid
- US Attorney General Merrick Garland has authorised the first-ever transfer of forfeited Russian assets for use in the war-torn country
- Malofeyev is considered one of the main sources of funding for pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine
Attorney General Merrick Garland said on Friday that he had authorised the United States to begin using seized Russian money to aid Ukraine, according to US media.
The announcement came during a meeting between Garland and Ukrainian Prosecutor General Andriy Kostin in Washington, nearly one year after Moscow’s invasion of its former Soviet neighbour.
“Today, I am announcing that I have authorised the first-ever transfer of forfeited Russian assets for use in Ukraine,” Garland said, according to CNN.
The money will come from assets confiscated from Russian oligarch Konstantin Malofeyev after his indictment on sanctions evasions in April, he added.
The money will go to the State Department “to support the people of Ukraine,” CNN reported Garland as saying.
Kostin welcomed the move, which he said would see US$5.4 million of confiscated assets go toward “rebuilding Ukraine.”