Russia’s war against Ukraine resulted in unexpected victims – the country’s oligarchs. Ukraine has long been considered one of the most corrupt countries in the world and the several dozen businessmen who control much of its wealth, as well as TV stations, mines, banks, shops, farms, real estate and more , are considered the main reason for this. .
One of them, chocolate baron Petro Poroshenko, also served as president from 2014 to 2019.
But Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine has played a trick on them. The vast Mariupol metallurgical plants owned by Rinat Akhmetov have been reduced to smoldering ruins, farmlands are barren, littered with mines, factories are closed due to power outages, and exports by sea have decreased.
The political influence of the super-rich has also declined: even before the war, President Volodymyr Zelensky had passed a de-oligarchization law aimed at limiting their political influence.
The war supported these efforts. Zelensky no longer needs the political and financial support of the oligarchs, and the bitter experience of Russian aggression in the country will likely make Ukrainians less willing to bow down to the super-rich again. Eliminating corruption and strengthening the rule of law is also a condition for much of the aid flowing into Ukraine.
This is how the war with Russia changed the financial and political status of five prominent Ukrainian businessmen, writes Politico.
Rinat Ahmetov
Ukraine’s richest man, Rinat Akhmetov, is paying dearly for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The backbone of his business empire, the metallurgical conglomerate Metinvest, has lost two of its main factories in southern Ukraine. Azovstal Steel Works and Ilyich Steel Works were reduced to rubble by Russian forces during the storming of Mariupol. In June, he filed a lawsuit against Russia in the European Court of Human Rights.
Since the start of the war, its other assets – including power plants, banks, farms, mining and processing plants – have been damaged or seized by Russian forces.
Akhmetov’s companies provide money and resources to support the war effort, having provided more than $100 million for bulletproof vests and helmets, fortification materials, military vehicles, food kits and medicines for the civilian population.
According to Akhmetov’s spokesman, he returned to Ukraine the day before the Russian invasion.
“He met the beginning of the war at home, in Kiev. Since then he hasn’t left Ukraine for a single day,” the spokesman said.
According to the Ukrainian edition of Forbes, Akhmetov’s fortune shrank from nearly $14 billion in January to $4.3 billion in December, but he is still Ukraine’s richest man.
“As the intense hostilities and rocket attacks in Ukraine unfortunately continue on an almost daily basis, it is not possible at this stage to make an accurate and comprehensive calculation of losses and estimates may be inaccurate and inconclusive,” the spokesman said.
In 2021, Zelensky accused Ahmetov of attempting a coup, a charge Akhmetov has strongly denied. After the invasion, he relinquished his media licenses (to praise Zelensky), and his full support for military action earned him some support.
Victor Pinchuk
Since the start of the Russian invasion, Viktor Pinchuk has been actively urging Western countries to increase their military support and has criticized some countries, such as Germany, for being slow. By the end of September, according to his charitable foundation, the oligarch had spent more than $45 million to support the Ukrainian military and civilians.
In the first weeks of the war, as Russian troops approached Kiev, paramedics were stationed at the luxurious Pinchuk mansion on the outskirts of the Ukrainian capital.
The oligarch’s business empire – built around the pipe and railway wheel manufacturer “Interpipe” – suffered less than the business of other oligarchs.
“The financial condition of the holding has deteriorated, but it cannot be said to be a disaster,” said Alexander Paraschiy, head of research at the Ukrainian consultancy Concorde Capital.
“They were hit not so much by military actions as by rising energy prices and logistical problems,” he explained. The war reduced “Interpipe’s” ability to export by sea.
According to Forbes, the Ukrainian’s fortune dropped from $2.6 billion to $2 billion.
Petro Poroshenko
Before the war, Poroshenko was fighting for his political survival and was accused of treason and inciting terrorism. According to prosecutors, Poroshenko preferred to buy coal from rebel-held areas of Donbass instead of coal produced in South Africa. Part of his assets were seized by a court in Kiev.
But after the invasion, TV channels controlled by Poroshenko toned down their criticism of Zelensky.
“On the first day of the Russian aggression, February 24, I went to Zelensky and told him: ‘I am no longer the leader of the opposition. You and I are both soldiers. Until we win, I won’t criticize anyone,” he said in an interview with VOA.
Poroshenko, who favored nationalist Ukraine when he was president, has also donned military garb and organized volunteer groups to aid in the war, though Zelensky’s office has accused him of unnecessary PR.
Poroshenko’s companies have spent more than $46 million supporting the military, his spokesman said. He has delivered armored cars purchased in Italy and Great Britain, pickup trucks, bulletproof vests, helmets, fuel and more. According to Forbes, his fortune has dropped from $1.6 billion to $700 million.
Poroshenko’s press office declined to comment on the loss of his business and personal fortune caused by the war.
Igor Kolomoisky
Kolomoiskyi is considered one of Zelenskyi’s key early supporters – he used his influential TV stations to promote the popular actor and comedian during the 2019 presidential election. However, close ties with the new leader have not saved Kolomoiskyi from trouble.
In January, the US Justice Department alleged Kolomoisky and an associate had laundered money in the US, with his lawyers denying any wrongdoing. Its main financial asset, Privatbank, was seized by Ukrainian authorities seven years ago after regulators uncovered a $5 billion hole in the books, and Kolomoisky is still fighting to get the bank back.
“Kolomoisky has very little chance of getting anything in court,” says Concorde Capital’s Paraschii.
According to information, in July Zelensky took steps to revoke Kolomoisky’s Ukrainian citizenship because he has Israeli and Cypriot passports. Kolomoisky also fought against this decision.
In November, the Ukrainian government invoked wartime laws to take control of shares in the country’s main energy company, Ukrnafta, which is partly controlled by Kolomoisky.
Viktor Medvedchuk
Viktor Medvedchuk, whose pre-war fortune amounted to $620 million, is the most powerful pro-Russian oligarch in Ukraine; as there are reports that Russian President Vladimir Putin is godfather to his daughter. His proximity to the Kremlin turned against him.
Prior to the full-scale invasion of Russia, Medvedchuk was arrested and under investigation for possible treason on charges of cooperating with Russia in illegal Black Sea gas extraction, as well as supplying coal from rebel-held territories in the region of Donbass.
After the invasion, Medvedchuk managed to escape house arrest, but was caught trying to leave the country disguised as a military volunteer. In September he was exchanged for Ukrainian POWs held by the Russians. His current whereabouts are unknown.
Croatia also confiscated its $200 million superyacht ‘Royal Romance’, which will be auctioned off for the benefit of Ukraine.
(From BGNES)
