Britain sends financial experts to Ukraine

LONDON -- Britain has deployed a team of experts in financial intelligence, money laundering and tracing criminal assets to Ukraine to help the Ukrainian government recover "misappropriated assets," British Foreign Office said Thursday in a

Ukraine crisis

statement.

The team, led by the British National Crime Agency (NCA), will work with the Ukrainian government to assess the scope and scale of investigations into "misappropriated assets" and will identify the best way for Britain to help with such investigations, the statement said.

"British HM Treasury will be working closely with law enforcement bodies over the coming weeks and months to ensure that we are robustly implementing these measures, including looking to uncover assets which may be hidden behind complex company structures," the statement added.

The European Union has imposed asset freeze sanctions on 18 Ukrainians suspected of "misappropriating state funds", and assets that are proven to be the "proceeds of corruption" can be returned to Ukraine, according to the statement.

"Any assets in the UK which are owned, held or controlled by any of the 18 listed individuals will be frozen, thereby allowing the necessary time for criminal investigations to take place," the statement continued.