The United States will transfer confiscated assets of a Russian oligarch to Ukraine for the first time

US Attorney General Merrick Garland announced the transfer of confiscated assets of Russian oligarch Konstantin Malofeev to Ukraine, CNN reports .

"Today I I announce , which authorized the first-ever transfer of confiscated assets in favor of Ukraine,” Garland said at a meeting with Ukrainian Prosecutor General Andrei Kostin.

Funds worth $5.4 million were frozen in 2014 when Malofeev came under US sanctions for sponsoring separatists in eastern Ukraine. In the summer of 2022, the funds were seized from the bank in which they were located, and on February 2, a court in New York approved the confiscation of the funds and their transfer to Ukraine.

“We are grateful to the United States for its strong efforts and support. The Ukrainian people will never forget this,” said Andrey Kostin.

This is the first case of transfer of confiscated funds to Ukraine.