The United States and Estonia will transfer nearly $500,000 in forfeited Russian funds to Ukraine, according to a press release from the Department of Justice.
U.S. Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco and Estonian Secretary General Tõnis Saar made the announcement Saturday at the Munich Security Conference. The U.S. forfeited the money “following the breakup of an illegal procurement network attempting to import into Russia a high-precision, U.S.-origin machine tool with uses in the defense and nuclear proliferation sectors,” according to the Justice Department. Separately, a Latvian citizen pleaded guilty Wednesday to violating U.S. export laws and regulations in connection with the procurement scheme.
The U.S. is not authorized to transfer the money directly to Ukraine, according to the release, so it is sending the money to Estonia, which will forward it instead.
“Today’s announcement demonstrates
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