A former MP's assets worth half a billion hryvnias will be confiscated, according to a recent court ruling.

Former member of parliament from the banned Party of Regions in Ukraine, Oleg Tsaryov, has received a prison sentence in yet another criminal case. Based on the evidence collected by the Security Service of Ukraine, Tsaryov was found guilty of financing the armed aggression of the Russian Federation. He was sentenced to eight years in prison, and his property, seized in February 2024, will be confiscated for the benefit of the state.

This information was reported by the Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine. It was noted that the following assets will be confiscated from the state traitor:

• a land plot of 0.15 hectares in Kyiv region;
• an apartment in Dnipro;
• real estate in the temporarily occupied Crimea: hotel and sanatorium complexes, dormitories, production facilities, and utility buildings.

The total value of the assets subject to confiscation amounts to 460.6 million UAH.

"Prosecutors in court proved the fact of financing the armed aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine by the convicted individual. The former MP owned real estate and a number of enterprises in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea. After the annexation of the peninsula, he registered them under Russian law and hired military personnel from the National Guard of Russia to ensure security measures. Facts of money transfers for the protection of his museum-estate and sanatorium in Yalta have been established. These funds were transferred to the accounts of the ‘Federal State Unitary Enterprise "Protection" of the Federal National Guard Service of the Russian Federation," – the statement said.

The Prosecutor General's Office added that the convicted individual is currently located in Russia and continues to engage in illegal activities there. From the moment of his apprehension, he will serve the imposed sentence.

Oleg Tsaryov: what is known about him

54-year-old Oleg Tsaryov is a former Ukrainian businessman, Russian collaborator, and pro-Russian politician. He is hiding in Russia from the investigation conducted by the Prosecutor General's Office of Ukraine, accused of treason for collaborating with Russia.

While serving as a Ukrainian MP, he proposed making Russian the state language in Ukraine. He also opposed the signing of the Association Agreement between Ukraine and the European Union.

In 2023, a court found Oleg Tsaryov guilty of encroachment on the territorial integrity and inviolability of Ukraine, as well as for violent change or overthrow of the constitutional order. At that time, Oleg Tsaryov was also suspected of financing the National Guard of Russia. The investigation established facts of money transfers for the protection of his museum-estate and sanatorium in Yalta. That same year, the Security Service of Ukraine announced a suspicion of treason against Oleg Tsaryov. He collaborated with the leadership of the Ministry of Defense of Russia after the onset of the full-scale invasion. Tsaryov provided Russia with information about the consequences of Russian airstrikes on Ukrainian territory.

On March 14, 2023, Tsaryov was added to the European Union's sanctions list. On November 18, 2023, he was also added to Ukraine's sanctions list for a period of 10 years.

In October 2023, an assassination attempt was made on Tsaryov in Crimea, but unfortunately, he survived. Some Ukrainian sources reported at that time that the Security Service of Ukraine might have carried out the attempt on Tsaryov's life.