If Ukrainian investigators fail to find evidence of the criminal origin of the foreign assets belonged to ex-president of Ukraine Viktor Yanukovych and his associates by March 2016, then European states can remove restrictions from their accounts, Deputy Prosecutor General of Ukraine Vitaliy Kasko said.

"These are signals from our European partners, because the sanctions are the up to date administrative tool in the world. Its main point is that when sometimes any state reshuffles government, the sanctions prevent ex-officials from escape with the robbed [money]. For example, such regime works in Switzerland. When the government reshuffled, they [new authorities] block the accounts [of former ones] at once, carry investigation and then unblock," Kasko said in an interview with Segodnya newspaper.

He said that this very mechanism was used in Switzerland in February 2014 against 20 senior officials, Yanukovych and his son Oleksandr as well.

"But they [sanctions] are of administrative character and meant to provide for law enforcement agencies [in Ukraine] a delay and a possibility to find everything out. Our law enforces were given time up to the neck. Theoretically, a year was good enough, but they were given two. If they within two years didn't manage find evidence of the criminal origin of these assets, excuse me guys, you were given a chance. If you didn't arrest [accounts and property] over your own criminal cases for the period you were given, EU won't take responsibility for this and won't continue hold these money and other assets," Kasko said.

The deputy prosecutor said that if Ukrainian investigators in the Ukrainian criminal cases won't find evidence of the criminality of the assets of Yanukovych and his associates by March, then the sanctions of the European states could be easily lifted.