Attorney General Merrick Garland said Friday that he had authorized the United States to begin using seized Russian money to aid Ukraine, according to US media.
The announcement came during a meeting between Garland and Ukrainian Prosecutor General Andriy Kostin in Washington, nearly one year after Moscow's invasion of its former Soviet neighbor.
"Today, I am announcing that I have authorized the first-ever transfer of forfeited Russian assets for use in Ukraine," Garland said, according to CNN.
The money will come from assets confiscated from Russian oligarch Konstantin Malofeyev after his indictment on sanctions evasions in April, he added.
Kostin welcomed the move, which he said would see $5.4 million of confiscated assets go toward "rebuilding Ukraine."
"All Ukrainians have, in one way or another, suffered from this war. It's our obligation to ensure the Ukrainian people receive compensation for all the tremendous damage done," he said.
In April, the US Treasury blacklisted a network of some 40 individuals and entities led by Malofeyev that it said were used to facilitate sanctions evasion.
The United States has announced several packages of sanctions against Russian citizens and organizations since the start of Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
-AFP
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