Updates to our Terms of Use

We are updating our Terms of Use. Please carefully review the updated Terms before proceeding to our website.

Friday, March 29, 2024 | Back issues
Courthouse News Service Courthouse News Service

Court Won’t Revisit|Restitution Reversal

(CN) - The 9th Circuit on Thursday refused to reconsider its ruling last month that former Ukrainian Prime Minister Pavel Lazarenko is not required to pay $19 million to his partner in a money-laundering scheme.

Lazarenko's co-conspirator, Peter Kiritchenko, had asked the full federal appeals court in San Francisco to revisit its Nov. 4 decision that Lazarenko did not have to pay him restitution under the Mandatory Victims Restitution Act.

The former prime minister allegedly used his position to discourage Kiritchenko's business competitors in exchange for kickbacks.

A jury in 2004 found Lazarenko guilty of conspiring to launder money, and the trial court ordered him to pay restitution for extorting money from Kiritchenko.

The 9th Circuit reversed, holding that "in the absence of exceptional circumstances, a co-conspirator cannot recover restitution."

Categories / Uncategorized

Subscribe to Closing Arguments

Sign up for new weekly newsletter Closing Arguments to get the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and hot cases and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world.

Loading...