Yanukovych stole equivalent of Ukraine's state budget as president, - prosecutor's office

The Prosecutor General's Office claims some $40 billion of public funds was stolen by Ukraine's former President Viktor Yanukovych.

Deputy Prosecutor General Yevhen Yenin said on air of UMN, Censor.NET reports citing Ukrinform.

"We estimate that some $40 billion was stolen during Viktor Yanukovych's rule. In two and a half years, they stole an approximate equivalent of Ukraine's state budget," he said.

According to Yenin, the criminal organization of Yanukovych was composed of several groups.

"We have closely analyzed the activities of one of the seven wings of the criminal organization - the one that operated under cover of Kurchenko, Klymenko [Ukraine's former tax and revenue minister - ed.]. These individuals controlled certain spheres of the national economy of Ukraine. They collected about $100 million a month in cash in the Dnipropetrovsk region alone through the so-called encashment centers," the deputy prosecutor general said.

The money was further laundered abroad and used to purchase real estate, football clubs, yachts, votes in the parliament or domestic government bonds, Yenin added.