U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland announced on Wednesday that he had given the go-ahead for the first transfer of confiscated Russian assets to Ukraine.
The U.S. Department of Justice charged Konstantin Malofeyev, a Russian oligarch, with breaching sanctions imposed on Russia following its invasion of Ukraine last year. The United States claimed that he had provided funds to Russians who were promoting separatism in Crimea.
Malofeyev accumulated his wealth through investments in various industries, including banking, telecommunications, and media.
Garland also revealed that last year authorities had seized millions of dollars from an account at a U.S. financial institution that could be linked to Malofeyev’s sanctions violations. In February, he authorized the transfer of that money to Ukraine….