He acquired the funds through unlawful activities in the gas and energy sector in Ukraine, where he was the Energy Minister in the mid-90s, and then prime minister between 1996 and 1997.

FORBES: Out of Prison in California, Former Prime Minister Lazarenko is Not in a Rush to Go to Ukraine

"After years of denials and cover-up, News Group Newspapers has finally admitted the depth and scale of the unlawful activities of many of their journalists at the News of the World and the culture of illegal conduct at their paper, " Mark Thomson, another lawyer representing phone-hacking victims, said in a statement.

WSJ: News Corp. Settles Some Phone-Hacking Cases