“US transfers seized Russian assets to aid Ukraine, starting with oligarch Malofeev”

US Attorney General Merrick Garland has approved the first transfer of seized Russian assets for use in Ukraine, Reuters reported. This was announced by Garland himself in a statement released today.

Last year, the US Department of Justice accused Russian oligarch Konstantin Malofeev of violating sanctions imposed on Russia after its invasion of Ukraine. More specifically, he is accused of financing Russians propagating separatism in Crimea, writes BTA.

Garland reported that “the confiscation of millions of dollars from an account at a US financial institution traceable to Malofeev’s sanctions violations” was then ordered. In February, the US attorney general said he had approved the transfer of those funds for use in Ukraine.

“This represents the first US transfer of seized Russian assets for the recovery of Ukraine,” Garland said, adding that “it won’t be the last.”

In 2019, Bulgaria banned Malofeev and retired KGB general Leonid Reshetnikov from entering our country because of espionage. Shortly before that, the same accusations were brought against the chairman of the national association “Russophiles” Nikolay Malinov. According to the investigators, there is evidence that he worked with Malofeev and Reshetnikov.