Once one of the richest and most influential oligarchs in Ukraine, Igor Kolomoisky lost the lion's share of his assets within a year and ended up in the SBU pre-trial detention center.
How did this happen?
The first alarming signal will be the US sanctions imposed in March 2021 against Kolomoisky and his close relatives, and after the start of a big war, the Dnieper businessman will have really serious problems in Ukraine. One by one, he will lose control of assets estimated at tens of billions of hryvnia.
This list includes the largest mining company Ukrnafta, the second largest private gas producing company Ukrnafteburenie, the Kremenchug oil refinery, more than 500 gas stations and oil depots. Because of the war, the UIA airline will stop operating, hard times will come for the oligarch’s chemical and metallurgical businesses, and one of the most influential and highest-rated channels “1+1” will begin broadcasting only as part of a single telethon.
It will all end with suspicion of committing a crime under articles of fraud and money laundering and a ticket to the SBU pre-trial detention center.
On the day of Kolomoisky’s arrest, in his evening address, Vladimir Zelensky will say that the country will no longer be “as always” in relation to those who robbed Ukraine and put themselves above the law and any rules. “I thank law enforcement officers for their determination to bring to completion each of the cases that have been stalled for decades. The law must work,” the president will emphasize.
At what point did the relationship between the president and the oligarch pass the point of no return? Representatives of the President's Office, in official and unofficial conversations, cite the latter's reluctance to help the Armed Forces of Ukraine as the main reason for the deterioration of relations between the authorities and Kolomoisky.
The oligarch's managers called this information erroneous, and the businessman himself decided not to give any comments until the end of the war. Kolomoisky did not communicate with the press during the selection of a preventive measure on Saturday.
On September 6, the court is considering a complaint from the businessman’s defense against the decision to detain him in custody due to a case of fraud and money laundering. What evidence did detectives collect regarding Kolomoisky, how did he withdraw money from Ukraine, and why might the oligarch receive new suspicions in the near future?
What Kolomoisky is suspected of: the crux of the matter
The suspicion, which Kolomoisky received on September 2 from the SBU and BEB, speaks of a criminal plan that the businessman allegedly implemented in two stages.
The first phase described by detectives in the suspicion concerns December 2013. Then the oligarch, according to law enforcement officers, developed a criminal plan, the ultimate goal of which was to seize a large amount of funds through fraudulent means.
To implement it, according to the investigation, the former billionaire recruited several employees of Privatbank, whose names the investigation could not establish.
The document contains the names of two officials of the financial institution: chief treasurer Andrei Zorba and head of the cash operations department Victoria Ladny. According to investigators, these individuals did not know about the businessman’s plans.
According to detectives, at the first stage, Kolomoisky allegedly imitated the deposit of UAH 949 million into the Privatbank cash desk, which in fact did not end up in the bank, but was credited to the oligarch’s personal account. Thus, he was able to manage non-cash funds.
After this, Kolomoisky entered into surety agreements with Privatbank and “simulatedly repaid the loan of the Neftekhimik Prykarpattya company controlled by him to the bank” on his own behalf. Thus, the oil company incurred a debt to Kolomoisky himself.
Subsequently, funds from the Neftekhimik Prykarpattya company were transferred to Kolomoisky’s account in another financial institution, Ibox Bank. At this stage of the deal, Kolomoisky allegedly took possession of UAH 572 million.
At the second stage - in 2020-2021 - the legalization of these funds took place, investigators believe.
According to law enforcement officials, Kolomoisky exchanged the specified amount for euros and transferred it to the accounts of four companies for payment of legal services. 25.5 million euros were received by two companies registered in the USA, one each in the UK and Switzerland. “Thus, the second stage of Kolomoisky’s criminal plan was completed,” detectives say.
What threatens Kolomoisky if law enforcement officers bring this case to the end? Under the mentioned articles of fraud and money laundering, Kolomoisky faces imprisonment from 8 to 12 years.
That's not all. New suspicions are brewing
On Saturday, near the Shevchenko court, the businessman was asked if he had time to familiarize himself with the case materials. Kolomoisky briefly answered that he was traveling from Dnieper to Kyiv and did not have time: “Very quickly, superficially (I got acquainted).” At the same time, he emphasized that he “absolutely disagrees” with what he was able to read.
After the end of the court hearing, the oligarch’s defenders briefly commented on the case. “We are filing an appeal, waiting for the full text of the court decision, we are not paying bail, we are going to Askoldov Lane (SBU detention center - EP),” said lawyer Alexander Lysenko.
The day before the appeal, the ED contacted Lysenko for comment. “No statements, we filed an appeal, there will be a hearing tomorrow at 11:20,” the lawyer briefly commented. According to him, Kolomoisky does not intend to post bail in the amount of more than UAH 509 million until the appeal is resolved. He now remains in custody.
Suspicion from the SBU and BEB, according to ED interlocutors in power circles, may not be the last. The amounts in the new episodes are measured not in hundreds of millions, but in tens of billions.
According to ED sources, NABU may soon bring charges against Kolomoisky in the case of withdrawing funds from Privatbank. This information was confirmed yesterday by Forbes sources in law enforcement agencies.
The investigation continues in the case of the misappropriation of tens of billions of hryvnia from Ukrnafta and Ukrtatnafta, within the framework of which searches were carried out in Kolomoisky’s house in February.
The scale of possible abuses at enterprises is evidenced by only one figure from Sergei Koretsky, who headed both enterprises after nationalization in November 2022. In an interview with EP, he noted that Kolomoisky’s management caused Ukrnafta and Ukrtatnafta losses of approximately UAH 100 billion.
