On the 31st anniversary of Ukraine's independence, the Ministry of Justice finally took the first step towards implementing legislation to recover property from those who participated in or facilitated the war against Ukraine.
The Ministry of Justice filed the first lawsuit with the High Anti-Corruption Court to impose the relevant sanction.
The first defendant, according to the Judiciary of Ukraine portal, is a well-known Russian oligarch, one of the richest representatives of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Yevtushenkov.
Who is Yevtushenkov?
‘If you lose something, you move on’ is a rule of business for Vladimir Yevtushenkov, which we hope he will soon have to put into practice.
Yevtushenkov is one of the richest men in Russia. As of 2021, he was worth $3.4 billion. One of his main assets is Sistema JSFC. It owns RTI Systems, one of the world's largest defence companies, which develops control and communication systems and radio equipment for Russian weapons. For example, the Voronezh stationary radar stations, which are designed to detect and track ballistic and cruise missiles and other aerodynamic objects.
In March 2022, journalists of the Schemes programme and the Scanner Project, as part of the Pillars of the Putin Regime series, learned that Yevtushenkov has real estate in Europe: three villas on the Cote d'Azur registered with companies directly linked to his family and two houses in central London.
Back in April 2022, Yevtushenkov and other Russian businessmen and politicians were subject to Western sanctions. After that, the oligarch resigned from the board of directors of Sistema and transferred some of his shares to his son. As a result, the oligarch's share decreased to 49.2%.
According to NV, he could have been one of the intermediaries who brought Yanukovych together with those interested in starting hostilities in Donbas in 2014 after he fled to Russia.
How soon can I expect a decision?
The confiscation procedure is carried out by imposing a sanction on a specific person in the form of a recovery of assets belonging to an individual or legal entity to the state (in other words, confiscation). This also applies to assets that such a person can directly or indirectly dispose of. That is, assets that are not registered in their name but of which they are the true owner.
The decision on confiscation must be made by the HACC upon the claim of the Ministry of Justice. It is important to understand that assets can be confiscated only during the period of martial law and only in respect of persons to whom the NSDC has already applied an asset freeze. In this case, such a decision must be made after 24 May 2022 (the date of entry into force of Law No. 2257-IX, which introduced the sanction and the procedure for its implementation). The respective decision of the National Security and Defence Council to block Yevtushenkov's assets was put into effect by the Decree of the President of Ukraine dated 24 May 2022.
According to the relevant Deputy Minister, the claim, together with the annexes, is more than 500 pages long. But the HACC has only 10 days to consider such a claim.
Nevertheless, the law provides the defendants with the procedural guarantees necessary to protect their rights, albeit with certain peculiarities. For example, after the HACC's decision is made, Yevtushenkov will have 5 days to appeal it to the HACC Appeals Chamber. Therefore, if the defendant wants to appeal the decision, the deadline will be extended for another 10 days (time for filing an appeal and consideration). The decision of the HACC Appellate Chamber is final and cannot be appealed.
This suggests that we may have the first court decision and confiscated assets of the Russian oligarch as early as September.
Data from the Judiciary of Ukraine register
In general, the confiscation mechanism looks like this:
How should it be done to avoid problems in the future?
In general, sanctions are temporary and aimed at changing the behaviour of sanctioned persons. At the same time, the sanctions imposed on Russia and its proxies did not stop them from a full-scale invasion.
Therefore, a new type of sanctions in this war and in the future may include not only blocking but also confiscation of assets of the aggressor and those who facilitate this aggression.
Ukraine's partners, who have already imposed unprecedented sanctions against Russia and blocked billions of Russian assets, are now looking for ways to confiscate and use these funds.
Only Canada has enshrined this procedure at the legislative level. In June, Bill C-19 was passed, which, among other things, amended the Special Economic Measures Act and the Justice for Victims of Corrupt Foreign Officials Act (the so-called Magnitsky Act). These changes include the possibility to confiscate assets blocked or seized under these laws.
The UK also wants to follow Canada's example and confiscate Russian assets.
The United States is also looking for legal mechanisms to seize the assets of individuals associated with the Putin regime. The relevant bill has already passed the House of Representatives and has been submitted to the Senate.
Vice President of the European Commission Margaritis Schinas said: ‘The European Commission will shortly present a proposal to modernise the existing legal framework on asset confiscation and recovery to strengthen the powers of national authorities to trace, freeze, confiscate and manage the proceeds of crime.’
The need for the EU to create a legal mechanism for the confiscation of sanctioned Russian assets and their transfer to Ukraine's recovery was also emphasised by Lithuanian Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonite during the Lugano Conference on Ukraine's Recovery.
Confiscation is a significant interference with property rights, especially when it comes to private property. The entire civilised world is on guard to protect property rights. Therefore, HOW we do this will be an example of better or worse approaches, as well as confirmation or refutation of the viability of such sanctions as confiscation of assets of persons who contribute to military aggression.
The use of international standards for non-conviction-based asset forfeiture is an important key to the success of this and future confiscations.
This will contribute to the recognition of this tool as an effective mechanism for preventing future wars and compensating the victims.
Source: Ukrainian Pravda