Attorney General Merrick B. Garland Statement on Transfer of Forfeited Munitions to Ukraine

The Justice Department issued the following statement from Attorney General Merrick B. Garland on the transfer of approximately 1.1 million 7.62mm rounds to the Ukrainian armed forces. The U.S. Government obtained ownership of these munitions on July 20, through the Justice Department’s civil forfeiture claims against Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). The munitions were originally seized by U.S. Central Command naval forces from the transiting stateless dhow MARWAN 1, on Dec. 9, 2022. The munitions were being transferred from the IRGC to the Houthis in Yemen in violation of the United Nations Security Council Resolution 2216.

“With this weapons transfer, the Justice Department's forfeiture actions against one authoritarian regime are now directly supporting the Ukrainian people's fight against another authoritarian regime. We will continue to use every legal authority at our disposal to support Ukraine in their fight for freedom, democracy, and the rule of law.”