You're reading: Yanukovych and up to 19 former officials face asset freezes in three European countries

Five countries have imposed sanctions of various degrees against former senior officials, including fugitive ex-President Viktor Yanukovych. 

At the request of Ukrainian authorities, on Feb. 28 Switzerland, Lichtenstein,
and European Union-member Austria imposed financial sanctions on up to 20
members of Ukraine’s ousted government, including Yanukovych and his older son
Oleksandr Yanukovych.

Canada and the U.S. have already enacted visa-travel
bans for individuals deemed responsible for the violence in Kyiv during which 95
people died as a result of clashes between protesters and police in the last
three months. Due to privacy laws in the countries, the identities of those who
face travel bans are unknown.

The U.S. Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes
Enforcement Network  furthermore on Feb.
24 released
an advisory
to financial institutions reminding them “to take reasonable,
risk-based steps regarding the potential suspicious movement of assets related to
(former President) Viktor Yanukuvych departing Kyiv and abdicating his
responsibilities…are required to apply enhanced scrutiny to private banking
accounts held by or on behalf of senior foreign political figures and to
monitor transactions that could potentially represent misappropriated or
diverted state assets, the proceeds of bribery or other illegal payments, or
other public corruption proceeds.”

Austria’s Financial Market Authority has issued
a similar advisory on suspicious banking activity related to some of Ukraine’s
former government officials.

Meanwhile, Switzerland and Lichtenstein
have frozen the assets and bank accounts of 20 of the same individuals.
Austria said
it would freeze the bank accounts of 18 Ukrainians as a
precautionary measure until the European Union’s sanctions enter into force,
Reuters reported.

The EU’s sanctions are expected to be enacted in
two to three weeks, following a Foreign Affairs Council meeting in late
February.

Ministers of the previous government Yuriy
Kolobov (finance), Eduard Stavitsky (energy), Mykola Prysiazhniuk (agriculture)
and former Kyiv city manager Oleksandr Popov have denied having accounts or
assets in Switzerland, Lichtenstein or Austria, reported Interfax Ukraine.

The following are the names and titles of those
who face financial sanctions: 

Name, title

Switzerland and Lichtenstein

Austria

Viktor Yanukovych, former president

X

X

Oleksandr Yanukovych, ex-president’s older son

X

X

Mykola Azarov, ex-prime minister

X

X

Andriy Klyuyev, ex-presidential chief of staff

X

X

Vitaliy Zakharchenko, former interior minister

X

X

Serhiy Arbuzov, ex-first deputy prime minister

X

X

Mykhailo Dobkin, ex-governor of Kharkiv

X

X

Hennadiy Kernes, mayor of Kharkiv

X

X

Valeriy Koryak, former Kyiv city chief of
police

 

X

Olena Lukash, former justice minister

X

X

Oleksandr Popov, former city manager of Kyiv

 

X

Viktor Pshonka, former prosecutor general

X

X

Stanislav Shulyak, former head of the interior
minister’s troops

 

X

Volodymyr Sivkovych, deputy secretary of the
national security and defense council

 

X

Oleksandr Yakymenko, former head of the state
security service of Ukraine

 

X

Yuriy Ivaniushchenko, member of parliament in
Party of Regions faction

X

X

Eduard Stavytsky, former energy minister

X

X

Raisa Bohatyriova, former deputy prime
minister and health minister

X

 

Oleksandr Klymenko, former minister of
revenues and duties

X

 

Andriy Klyuyev, younger brother of Serhiy
Klyuyev, member of parliament in Party of Regions faction

X

 

Borys Kolesnikov, member of parliament in
Party of Regions faction

X

 

Yuriy Kolobov, ex-finance minister

X

 

Volodymyr Kozak, former minister of
infrastructure

X

 

Mykola Prysiazhniuk, former agriculture
minister

X

 

Oleksandr Yefremov, member of parliament and
head of Party of Regions faction

X

 

Kyiv
Post editor Mark Rachkevych can be reached at [email protected].