Former Prime Minister of Ukraine Pavlo Lazarenko is sentenced to nine years imprisonment for money laundering, wire fraud, and extortion.
Pavlo Ivanovych Lazarenko (Ukrainian: Павло Іванович Лазаренко; born 23 January 1953) is a former Ukrainian politician, who served as Prime Minister from 1996 to 1997. Following a jury trial in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, petitioner was convicted on one count of conspiring to commit money laundering, in violation of 18 U.S.C. 1956(h); seven counts of money laundering, in violation of 18 U.S.C. 1956(a)(1)(B) and (2)(B); five counts of wire fraud, in violation of 18 U.S.C. 1343 (1994) and 18 U.S.C. 1346; and one count of interstate transportation of stolen property, in violation of 18 U.S.C. 2314. The judge threw out out the charges involving crimes related to the gas industry and other international charges. On the counts that remained for which he was convicted, he was sentenced to 108 months of imprisonment, to be followed by three years of supervised release. Pet. App. 10, 45-49. However, the court of appeals affirmed the conspiracy and money laundering convictions, reversed the wire fraud and interstate transportation of stolen property convictions, vacated petitioner's sentence, and remanded for resentencing. Eventually only eight of 53 counts survived the judicial process. "Although the appellate court eventually upheld the convictions, it gave serious consideration to the defense argument that the jury was improperly influenced by hearing evidence relating to counts that were dismissed and that a new trial should have been granted."