OREANDA-NEWS. The confiscation of US$ 1.5 billion of assets belonging to the former Yanukovych’s regime – that's UAH 40 billion in the state budget, the funds enabling to increase social standards, to increase pensions and salaries, said Prime Minister of Ukraine Arseniy Yatsenyuk at the meeting dedicated to anti-corruption investigations on Thursday, January 21.

The meeting was attended by Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine Arsen Avakov, Minister of Justice of Ukraine Pavlo Petrenko, the leadership of the General Prosecutor's Office of Ukraine, the Security Service of Ukraine, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine, the National Police of Ukraine, the State Fiscal Service of Ukraine, the State Service of Financial Monitoring, the State Auditor Service.

According to Arseniy Yatsenyuk, the Government of Ukraine and him personally appealed to the Prosecutor's Office and law enforcement agencies on the need to finalize the case on the forfeiture of US$ 1.5 billion of assets belonging to Yanukovych’s inner circle, which had been arrested under the decisions of the State Service of Financial Monitoring and the court.

The Head of the Government stresses, the aforesaid funds have been repatriated to Ukraine and placed in government securities.

"We're talking about almost 40 billion hryvnias that can be transferred to the state budget to improve social standards, increase pensions and salaries. And we should together set the key goal which is to launch proceedings in court and confiscate US $ 1.5 billion, which has been arrested", he stressed.

According to Arseniy Yatsenyuk, the Government and the State Service of Financial Monitoring are ready to provide any additional information to facilitate asset recovery during 2016.

The Prime Minister added that the equivalent of US $ 1.5 billion "is actually part of the Law of Ukraine on the State Budget": "That is, the confiscated funds will directly be transferred to the state budget revenues".

Arseniy Yatsenyuk also stressed the need to bring to end the case pertaining to the assets that had been withdrawn by the former regime and had government guarantee.