WASHINGTON, (Reuters) – The U.S. FBI will create a unit to help trace the assets of corrupt foreign leaders, to complement an existing group of prosecutors focused on the issue, Attorney General Eric Holder said yesterday.
The announcement comes as the United States scrambles to respond to unrest in Ukraine, and follows a new round of sanctions the United States announced on Monday over Moscow’s involvement in the crisis.
Prosecutors, agents and other U.S. government officials have traveled to Ukraine to help authorities there recover assets allegedly stolen by former president Viktor Yanukovich’s government, Holder said in remarks before a London conference on recovering Ukrainian assets.
Around one dozen agents and analysts will be part of the new FBI squad to support such efforts in Ukraine and elsewhere, he said.