The EU has extended restrictive measures against a number former Ukrainian officials, who are suspected of embezzlement of public funds until March 6, 2017, with former deputy prime minister Raisa Bohatyriova being excluded from the EU sanctions list.

The sanctions against 16 people were extended, reads a communiqué released in Brussels. These people are suspected of misappropriation of public funds or assets and/or misuse of office, which caused damage to the Ukrainian state.

The people on the sanction list are banned from the entry to the EU and their assets in European banks are being frozen.

These restrictive measures were initially imposed in March 2014 and then extended in March 2015.

The EU Council decision was published in the Official Journal of the EU on March 5, 2016.