United States v. Lazarenko

United States v. Lazarenko
CourtUnited States District Court for the Northern District of California
Full case name United States of America vs. Pavel Ivanovich Lazarenko
Started2000
DecidedJune 3, 2004 (2004-06-03)
Citation476 F.3d 642
Court membership
Judge sittingMartin Jenkins[1]

United States v. Lazarenko, 476 F.3d 642, was a landmark decision of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California in which it was ruled that former Prime Minister of Ukraine Pavlo Lazarenko had committed money laundering, wire fraud, and interstate transportation of stolen property by using American banks, along with banks in several other countries, to illegally launder money plundered from Ukrainian businesses and the government during his tenure as Governor of Dnipropetrovsk Oblast and later as Prime Minister of Ukraine. One of the largest money laundering trials in American history, it was notably the first case in which a foreign head of state or government had been convicted in the United States for money laundering[2] and the second case in which a foreign head of state or government had been convicted of a crime in the United States, following United States v. Noriega. The case was closely followed in Ukraine, with widespread support for Lazarenko's conviction.

  1. ^ "Former Ukrainian Prime Minister Sentenced to 97 Months in Prison Fined $9 Million for Role in Laundering $30 Million of Extortion Proceeds". Federal Bureau of Investigation. November 19, 2009. Retrieved March 1, 2024.
  2. ^ "United States v. Pavel Ivanovich Lazarenko". United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. Retrieved March 1, 2024.