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Court freezes assets of Yanukovych's 'confidant' worth over $24 million

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Court freezes assets of Yanukovych's 'confidant' worth over $24 million
Former President of Ukraine Viktor Yanukovych before the signing of an agreement on Feb. 21, 2014 in Kyiv, Ukraine that attempted to end the political crisis in the wake of the Euromaidan Revolution. (Thomas Trutschel/Photothek via Getty Images)

A Ukrainian court froze the assets of an ex-lawmaker and former pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych's "confidant," suspected of financing Russian-backed forces in the occupied part of Donetsk Oblast, Ukrainian law enforcement agencies reported on July 18.

The total amount of the seized assets exceeds Hr 1 billion ($24 million), according to the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU). These include bank accounts, four apartments in Kyiv, a house and a land plot outside of Kyiv, and seven premium cars.

While neither the SBU nor the Prosecutor General's Office has disclosed the name, Ukrainska Pravda, citing its unnamed sources, reported that the defendant is Mykola Yankovskyi.

The lawmaker, as well as other defendants, are suspected of financing terrorism, the SBU said. If found guilty, they may face up to 15 years in prison.

According to the prosecutors, the defendants produced medicine for Russian-controlled military hospitals and institutions in the occupied town of Horlivka in Donetsk Oblast.

Yankovskyi, 79, who was a member of the Yanukovych-led pro-Kremlin Party of Regions, reportedly left Ukraine before Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022.  Two other collaborators continue to run the illegal business in Horlivka.

According to the prosecutors, the illegal business supplies medicine to pharmacies and military hospitals, as well as for Russin military first aid kits.

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Leonid Pasechnik, the Russia-installed head of the occupied territories in Luhansk Oblast, was found guilty of undermining Ukraine’s territorial integrity and collaborationism, Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) reported on July 2.
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Kateryna Denisova

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Kateryna Denisova works as a News Editor at the Kyiv Independent. She previously worked as a news editor at the NV media outlet for four years, covering mainly Ukrainian and international politics. Kateryna holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Taras Shevchenko University of Kyiv. She also was a fellow at journalism schools in the Czech Republic and Germany.

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