The fund is in contact with US, EU and UK agencies dealing with sanctions and the search for assets of Russian kleptocrats.
Sanctions imposed against Russia for full-scale invasion of Ukraine have created a motivation to change the regime for those who fell under them, said in an interview with ZN.UA director of the Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK) Alexei Navalny Vladimir Ashurkov , with whom Inna Vedernikova spoke . He also explained why the United States called for help in collecting data on Russian corrupt officials.
“I think the motivation is created – those who came under sanctions understand that they will be able to get rid of them only when the regime in Russia changes. At the same time, it is naive to expect that one of the businessmen can somehow directly influence Putin and his aggressive policy. However, big Russian businessmen are quite inventive and creative people. They can develop and implement a plan to achieve change in Russia, “Ashurkov said.
Asked whether the FBI intends to cooperate in the US Treasury's proposals to pay for information about the assets of Russian oligarchs, he said that the Fund is in contact with US, EU and UK agencies that deal with sanctions and search for assets of authorized persons.
“The mechanism for rewarding information announced by the United States is not yet fully understood, but if it does take effect, it will create a serious motivation for investigators around the world to help in this case,” Ashurkov said.
He added that, of course, the US agencies have accumulated a large amount of information about Russian corrupt officials. But there is a lot of non-public information that knowledgeable people will be motivated to provide for a reward. As Ashurkov noted, if the United States has a working mechanism for confiscating sanctioned assets, it should not be a problem for them to share a percentage of this with those who provide information. The director of the FBK pointed out that there is no such extra information.
As for List 28, which contains names of particular interest to the United States and the level of FBK's assistance in providing information, Ashurkov said: “The specificity of our work is that we do not comment on information in the press that we are not ready to make public. This applies both to this list and to the information we have about its participants. “
Read also: Ukrainian sailor sank the yacht of a Russian corrupt, and the court acquitted him
Recall, the Treasury of the United States offers $ 5 million to those who provide information about the assets of the oligarchs . The information should be effective in seizing or freezing these assets.
