EU imposes asset freeze on Ukrainians

The European Union (EU) has imposed assets freeze on 18 Ukrainians accused of misusing the country’s state funds.

The EU said the sanctions, decided on Wednesday, target people “identified as responsible” for allegedly embezzling Ukrainian state funds and will apply for an initial 12 months.

In its official legal journal, published on Thursday, the 28-nation bloc revealed the names of the 18 people, which included former high-ranking ministers and officials from Ukraine.

The country’s ousted president, Viktor Yanukovych, along with his son, former prime minister, interior minister, justice minister, prosecutor general, and security services chief were included in the list.

“We are freezing assets across the EU on 18 Ukrainians suspected of misappropriating Ukrainian state funds,” British Chancellor George Osborne said in a statement on his Twitter account on Wednesday.

Political crisis erupted in Ukraine in November 2013, when Yanukovych refrained from signing an Association Agreement with the European Union in favor of closer ties with Russia.

The Ukrainian parliament removed the president from power last month and named Oleksandr Turchynov, the legislature’s speaker, as the Eastern European country’s interim president.

Russia has given sanctuary to Yanukovych.