US seeks to reclaim $200 mln for Ukraine through civil forfeiture from Ex-PM Pavlo Lazarenko

The US Department of Justice is working to return over $200 million to Ukraine through a civil forfeiture process. This money belongs to former Ukrainian Prime Minister Pavlo Lazarenko.

According to Voice of America, Mary Butler, Head of the International Division of the Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Department of the US Department of Justice, said this.

Butler mentioned that Lazarenko was found guilty by the Northern District of California in San Francisco, where he spent approximately six years in prison. However, the extent of the accusations in the case for which Lazarenko was convicted was significantly smaller compared to those under the jurisdiction of the US Department of Justice.

"The case is still not over. But I'm happy to report that we've reached another resolution that brings us closer to a final forfeiture decision. Then Lazarenko can appeal it as much as he wants. But we're still moving forward. It could be over 200 million dollars. That's a lot of money and a lot of sensitive issues," Butler said.

The case in question involves the Department of Justice's efforts to confiscate more than $200 million seized in various countries.

The lawsuits have been going on for about 20 years.

Mary Butler also mentioned the indictment of individuals associated with the sanctioned former associate of Yanukovych, Serhii Kurchenko, among other cases handled by the US Department of Justice.

According to preliminary reports of the Ministry of Justice, Serhii Kurchenko is accused of a multi-year scheme to violate and evade US sanctions by receiving funds from American persons and doing business with them in the amount of about 330 million dollars.

For reference:

In February 1999, Pavlo Lazarenko was apprehended in the US after fleeing from Ukraine. He also had pending charges in Switzerland at the time.

In 2009, a US court issued a final ruling against him, finding him guilty of laundering $22.85 million and giving him an eight-year prison sentence. Lazarenko was released in 2012.

Meanwhile, he received a 1.5-year suspended sentence in Switzerland and a penalty that included confiscation of funds and fines. Lazarenko's embezzled funds amounted to 6.5 million dollars, which were returned to Ukraine from Switzerland.

It is worth mentioning that Pavlo Lazarenko, the former Prime Minister of Ukraine, and the US Department of Justice were unable to reach an agreement on the return of over 200 million dollars seized from his offshore accounts before the 2019 elections.