Lord Hylton – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Hylton on 2014-06-04.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the value of assets wrongfully removed from Ukraine that have been recovered or frozen in the United Kingdom or elsewhere, since the meeting of the Ukraine Asset Recovery Forum in London on 28 and 29 April.

Lord Taylor of Holbeach

The UK led the call for the urgent imposition of EU sanctions, imposing an asset freeze on 22 individuals suspected of misappropriating funds from the Ukrainian state.

Those assets which are proven to be the proceeds of corruption through criminal investigations, and subsequently confiscated, will be returned to Ukraine.

We do not release information on the value of assets frozen under financial sanctions in the UK for reasons of confidentiality, and we do not hold information on the value of assets frozen overseas.

It is our policy to work closely with other governments to assist them to trace and repatriate stolen assets. All appropriate criminal justice and administrative routes to support the Ukrainians are being explored. The Director of the Serious Fraud Office has opened a criminal investigation into possible money laundering arising from suspicions of corruption in Ukraine. The Serious Fraud Office has obtained a restraint order freezing approximately $23 million of assets in the UK in connection with this case.