KIEV, Nov. 1 – Former Prime Minister Pavlo Lazarenko was released from the U.S. Federal Correctional Institution (FCI) Terminal Island in California on November 1 after serving 13 years for financial fraud.

Viktor Chevhuz, Lazarenko’s lawyer, told the Segodnya daily newspaper that the former prime minister would go from prison to his U.S. home in California.

"Of course, he will stay there with his wife Oksana [Lazarenko's second wife] and their two children. They are looking forward to seeing him. His first task is to choose a place of residence. And after that he will decide what to do," the lawyer said.

Lazarenko's defense lawyers do not rule out that their client will remain under the supervision of the U.S. law enforcers even after his release, as the issue on his residence remains unsettled.