The department for international legal cooperation of the Ukrainian Prosecutor General's Office (PGO) in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Justice on June 15 ensured the return to Ukraine of more than $500,000 withdrawn by the former leadership of the Ukrainian Ministry of Justice during the presidency of Viktor Yanukovych.

"These are the funds that were embezzled by the former leadership of the Justice Ministry during the presidency of Yanukovych and withdrawn from Ukraine by signing a fictitious agreement on provision of services with one of U.S. firms," Prosecutor General Yuriy Lutsenko wrote on his Facebook page.

He said the PGO continues carrying out a pre-trial investigation within criminal proceedings regarding the crimes under Part 1 of Article 366 (forgery by officials, the formal filling in the documents with the knowingly false information, other forgery of documents), Part 5 of Article 191 (assignment, embezzlement of property by abuse of official position, committed in a particularly large amount or by an organized group) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.