Interpol Confirms Removing Ukrainian Ex-Leader Yanukovych From Wanted List

Interpol has confirmed that it had taken Ukraine's ex-President Viktor Yanukovych off its wanted list, the president's lawyer Yuri Kirasir said Wednesday.

KIEV (Sputnik) — Kirasir published scans of an Interpol letter stating that a red notice, which is equivalent to an international arrest warrant, is absent against Yanukovych.

"Interpol has thus confirmed the fact that criminal proceedings against Viktor Yanukovych [by Ukraine] are politically motivated," the lawyer said on Facebook.

The letter also stated that the ousted president's son, Alexander Yanukovych, had also been deleted from Interpol's database.

Ukrainian authorities have accused Yanukovych of embezzling public funds, following which he was placed on Interpol's wanted list. He was later removed from the list due to the unsound evidence presented by Ukraine's security services, according to Interpol. Kiev said the removal was temporary due to an appeal against his warrant. His son as well as several former government officials were also on Interpol's list.

Yanukovych, who now resides in Russia, served as Ukraine's president from 2010 until his ouster in February 2014 by the Ukrainian parliament, when he fled Ukraine in fear for his life. The coup was preceded by months of pro-European protests in Kiev sparked by Yanukovych's decision to postpone the signing of the Ukraine–European Union Association Agreement over unfavorable terms.