U.S. Court Sentences Former Ukrainian PM To 9 Years In Prison
Yvonne Lee - All Headline News Staff Reporter San Francisco, CA (AHN) - A U.S. court sentences former Ukrainian Prime Minister Pavlo Lazarenko to nine years in prison after he was found guilty of extortion and money laundering. U.S. District Judge Martin Jenkins also fined him $10 million for the 2004 conviction. He says, "A significant sentence is appropriate." Lazarenko, 53, was Ukraine's prime minister from 1996 to 1997. He is the first foreign leader to be sentenced in the U.S. since Panamanian leader Manuel Noriega in 1992. A jury found him guilty of 29 counts of extortion, money laundering, fraud and transportation of stolen property. A judge subsequently threw out 15 counts due to lack of evidence. Following the sentence, Lazarenko tells Reuters, "I await the appeal... Over the past year and a half, we have been fully preparing for the appeal, going over all the transcripts and the details." U.S. prosecutors asked the judge to sentence him to more than 18 years in prison. They also asked for restitution of more than $43 million, and forfeiture of almost $23 million. Jenkins says he will rule on the restitution and forfeiture issues in the next 90 days. U.S. prosecutors wrote in their sentencing recommendation, "The defendant's conduct was egregious - he misused his office to generate tens of millions for himself at the expense of the Ukrainian people and then sought to avail himself of |
