You're reading: Ukraine cannot seize Yanukovych’s frozen money as there is no court ruling – official

Ukraine cannot seize frozen assets at the foreign bank accounts of former president Viktor Yanukovych and other former Ukrainian senior officials as there are no court rulings warranting this, the secretary of Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council said.

“Speaking about the need to raise funds for the defense budget, for the national budget as whole for that matter, including social programs, is like speaking about IMF [International Monetary Fund] loans – those resources that have been stolen from the country are comparable with IMF loans,” Oleksandr Turchynov told a briefing.

Turchynov said the National Security and Defense Council would monitor judicial proceedings against Yanukovych and other ex-senior officials. He mentioned a new law that allows sentencing offenders in absentia. “It was Yanukovych and his entourage who were meant primarily,” he said.

“This means we have sufficient legal reasons to not simply speak about criminal cases but also about sentences for those criminals. Those sentences must be passed immediately,” Turchynov said, adding that this matter would be on the agenda for a National Security and Defense Council conference.

“So we will monitor those matters that depend on our law enforcers, including the judiciary,” he said.