Markarova: US Department of Justice plans to intensify work on search, confiscation of kleptocrat assets associated with Russia

KYIV. Sept 21 (Interfax-Ukraine) – The US Department of Justice plans to step up its work on the search for and confiscation of kleptocrat assets associated with Russia, Ukrainian Ambassador Oksana Markarova has said.

"On September 20, the report of Director of KleptoCapture task force of the US Department of Justice Andrew Adams was published as part of the hearings "Tightening the Screws on Russia: Smart Sanctions, Economic Statecraft and Next Steps" in the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs," Markarova wrote on Facebook.

According to her, within the framework of the report, in particular, it was noted that the US Department of Justice announced a number of legislative proposals related to improving the freezing and seizure of Russia’s kleptocrat assets, in particular:

– enabling the transfer of the proceeds of forfeited kleptocrat property to Ukraine to remediate harms of Russian aggression;

– clamping down on facilitation of sanctions evasion;

– expanding the time limit in prosecuting violators and seeking forfeitures based on foreign offenses more effectively;

– leveraging foreign partners’ ability to recover oligarch wealth;

– applying administrative civil forfeiture proceedings to new classes of assets.