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Appellate Court Orders Lazarenko’s Millions Be Given to Antiguan Liquidator

By Colby Adams

The United States must turn over $2.5 million linked to a money laundering scheme by former Ukraine Prime Minister Pavel Lazarenko to Antiguan regulators, a federal appellate court ruled Tuesday. Lazarenko, who served as Ukraine's prime minister from May 1996 to July 1997, was indicted by the U.S. Justice Department in June 2000 for laundering at least $114 million he stole through a series of wire transfers to several foreign banks while in office. Among other schemes, Lazarenko derived much of the funds from bribes for awarding natural gas contracts when serving as Ukraine's head of energy. Approximately $70 million...

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