Ukrainian agency sells vehicles seized from pro-Putin oligarch to buy military bonds.

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The proceeds from the sale of two vehicles seized from pro-Russian oligarch Viktor Medvedchuk will be used to support the Ukrainian military, Ukraine's Asset Recovery and Management Agency (ARMA) reported on July 25. ARMA is responsible for finding, tracing, and managing assets derived from corruption. The agency auctioned a buggy and quadbike belonging to Medvedchuk for Hr 921,777 (£22,362) on Prozorro, Ukraine's electronic public procurement platform.

The proceeds from the auction "will go to ARMA's deposit portfolio for further purchase of military bonds," the agency said. The funds from the auction will therefore directly support the Ukrainian Armed Forces, AMRA added. The vehicles are among the seized assets belonging to Medvedchuk and his wife Oksana Marchenko.

Once considered Russian President Vladimir Putin's right-hand man in Ukraine, Medvedchuk had been under house arrest at the start of the full-scale invasion. After fleeing house arrest in February 2022, he was arrested again in April and handed over to Russia in a prisoner exchange in September 2022. Marchenko, an ex-TV host who married Medvedchuk in 2003, is thought to have fled Ukraine in March 2023.

Ukrainian courts have already seized various assets belonging to Marchenko, including land and real estate in Lviv Oblast and her shares in the Zaporizhzhia Ferroalloy Plant.

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