Ukraine’s Justice Ministry: Assets of Yanukovych, Kurchenko, Deripaska frozen

The assets of ex-president Viktor Yanukovych, ex-defense minister Pavlo Lebedev, oligarchs Serhiy Kurchenko and Oleg Deripaska have been frozen. The law enforcement officers collect evidence to file a lawsuit at the High Anti-Corruption Court to confiscate them.

"Now, the President's decree imposed sanctions in the form of asset freeze on certain ‘prominent’ figures. ...The assets of Kurchenko, Yanukovych, Lebedev... and Deripaska... are frozen at this stage. We requested law enforcement officers to provide us with any material they have regarding the assets of these individuals and any collaborative activities such individuals have been engaged in since the large-scale invasion. Having collected these materials, we will file them at to the Higher Anti-Corruption Court in order to obtain a decision on the confiscation of assets," Minister of Justice Denys Malyuska said during the nationwide telethon, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

He noted that the trial would not last long. The most difficult stage is the collection of evidence and the preparation of an evidence base for the lawsuit.

According to Malyusyka, the duration of evidence collection will depend on individual circumstances.

"The key problem is that all politicians, figures close to politics, or Russian oligarchs always preferred registering their business assets for nominal owners... That is, Yanukovych did not officially own his companies, his famous Tantalit company does not directly belong to him. Deripaska registered a considerable amount of assets for other persons. Accordingly, we will have to prove in court that the owners are nominal figures, while the real owner controlling the business is Yanukovych or Deripaska," Malyuska explained.

He noted that the evidence standard must be "very, very high."

"We understand that as soon as we receive the judgment of the Higher Anti-Corruption Court on the confiscation of assets, a lawsuit at international arbitration or ECHR will be filed immediately. That is, we will have to prove that we are right to foreign lawyers in international institutions," the Justice Minister emphasized.

As reported, by decree of October 12, 2022, President Volodymyr Zelensky enacted the decision of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine to impose sanctions on ex-president Viktor Yanukovych, ex-defense minister Pavlo Lebedev, oligarchs Serhiy Kurchenko and Oleg Deripaska.

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