On 21 April the European Union added to the list of sanctions Ukrainian businessman Serhiy Kurchenko and russian businessman Yevgeny Prigozhin, known as putin's cook.
This is stated in a document published in the Official Journal of the EU.
A statement from the Council of the European Union said that two individuals should be added to the list of persons, organizations, and structures that are subjects to restrictive measures "for their role in undermining Ukraine's territorial integrity and independence and gaining revenue from russia's decisions of the annexation of Crimea and destabilization in eastern Ukraine."
The document emphasizes that "Prigozhin is responsible for active actions that undermined and threatened the territorial integrity, sovereignty, and independence of Ukraine."
As for Kurchenko, the document states that "he helped large russian companies and state-owned holdings to circumvent EU restrictive measures by acting as a subcontractor."
In September 2019, the United States imposed sanctions on three planes and a yacht, which, according to the U.S. Department of the Treasury, belong to businessman Yevgeny Prigozhin. In October 2020, the European Union included Prigozhin in the list of sanctions, accusing him of supporting the supply of weapons to Libya and the activities of Wagner's private military company ("Wagner's PMC").
Kurchenko has been under Ukrainian sanctions since 2018. He has been abroad since February 2014, for this, he was put on the wanted list. He was remanded in custody in absentia.
In Ukraine, Kurchenko is accused of 10 criminal cases, the amount of theft of which is estimated at about 18 billion hryvnias, and the damage - more than 14 billion hryvnias. Kurchenko's actions are qualified under Part 1 of Article 255 (creation of a criminal organization); Part 4 of Article 28, Part 5 of Article 191 (theft); Part 2 of Article 15, Part 4 of Article 28, Part 5 of Article 191 (attempted theft), Part 4 of Article 28, Part 3 of Article 209 (money laundering); Part 4 of Article 28, Part 2 of Article 205 (fictitious entrepreneurship); Part 4 of Article 28, Part 1 of Article 366 (official forgery); Part 4 of Article 28, Part 3 of Article 212 (tax evasion); Part 4 of Article 28, Part 3 of Article 358 (forgery of documents and seals) of the Criminal Code.
The sanction of the most serious of the charges against him provides for imprisonment for up to 15 years.