Prosecutor General of Ukraine confirmed that Ukraine has received funds confiscated from Yanukovych
Prosecutor General Yurii Lutsenko has stated that the money confiscated from an organized criminal group operating under former President of Ukraine Viktor Yanukovych has been credited into the accounts of the State Treasury. Lutsenko made the announcement on Facebook.
“Not all of the USD 1.5 billion seized from the Yanukovych-led criminal group disappeared. It was placed into the Treasury accounts a long time ago and was subsequently invested into the National Army and infrastructure projects,” Lutsenko wrote.
He also wrote that the Odesa Oil Refinery and 1,000 rail cars have been also transferred into the state possession. To confirm this, Lutsenko displayed pictures of letters from the Oschadbank state bank and the State Treasury of Ukraine.
In late April 2017, President Petro Poroshenko announced that the funds confiscated from Yanukovych and his entourage would be spent on restoring the military strength of the Ukrainian Army. Poroshenko also confirmed that the money had been received by the state.
The money was suspended in the Yanukovych’s accounts in Oschadbank by the State Financial Monitoring Service back in January 2015.
The ex-president of Ukraine repeatedly denied that the money belonged to him. In late September 2017, Yanukovych threatened Lutsenko with a lawsuit for “systematic disinformation and deception of public” about him owning millions.
According to Yanukovych’s lawyer, Vitalii Serdiuk, the former president has approximately UAH 30 million ($1.13 million USD) of personal funds in Oschadbank accounts that cannot be confiscated.