Former Ukrainian officials have funneled $32 billion to Russia, Ukraine's acting prosecutor general has said ahead of a meeting in London on tracking money allegedly stolen by ousted Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych's entourage.
Russia is "officially harboring criminals such as Yanukovych" and his senior aides "without recognizing their guilt," Acting Prosecutor General Oleh Makhnitsky said in comments published on the prosecutor office's website Monday.
"All countries except Russia are actively cooperating with Ukraine," he said. "According to the latest investigative data, at least $32 billion has been taken out to Russia alone."
Four British ministers and several senior U.S. officials, along with representatives of about 20 other countries, are scheduled to attend a meeting in London this Tuesday and Wednesday to help Ukraine track and recover billions of dollars allegedly stolen by Yanukovych's entourage, The Financial Times reported Sunday.
Makhnitsky said that Switzerland has identified $2 billion originating from Ukraine that had made its way into Swiss bank accounts by the end of 2012.
"That sum could not have been gained by legal means, or the fraction of the money that was obtained legally was negligible," he said.
The European Union, Switzerland and others have frozen the assets and bank accounts of Ukrainians suspected of misappropriating state funds, including Yanukovych and his two sons. The ousted president has sought refuge in Russia following months of street protests that began last fall in response to his abrupt rejection, under Moscow's pressure, of a planned association deal with the European Union.
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