A Ukrainian court on Saturday ordered the detention of businessman Ihor Kolomoisky, accused of fraud and money laundering, for two months with the option of posting a bail of more than 509 million hryvnias, equivalent to more than $13 million.
President Volodymyr Zelensky has made tough anti-corruption measures a priority as Ukraine grapples with an 18-month-old Russian invasion, and Kolomoisky, one of Ukraine’s richest men, has become the most prominent target of Zelensky’s campaign.
Zelensky denies having any personal relations with Kolomoisky.
“It was confirmed that in the period from 2013 to 2020, Ihor Kolomoisky legalized more than half a billion hryvnias ($14 million) by withdrawing them abroad and using banks over which he controlled,” the Security Service of Ukraine said in a statement on Telegram.
The agency published pictures of a group of investigators at the door of Kolomoisky’s house, and the businessman appeared receiving and signing documents.
Kolomoisky is a former owner of the Ukrainian bank Privatbank, which was nationalized by the authorities in late 2016 as part of a major purge of the country’s banking system.
Security officials this year searched Kolomoisky’s home as part of a separate investigation into embezzlement and tax evasion in the country’s two largest oil companies, in which he owned stakes.
Kolomoisky owned a range of assets in the energy, banking and other sectors, as well as one of the most influential TV channels in Ukraine.
The United States imposed sanctions on Kolomoisky, in 2021, “because of his involvement in significant acts of corruption.” The Zmirky authorities also alleged that Kolomoisky and one of his accomplices laundered stolen money across the United States. Kolomoisky denies any wrongdoing.
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2023-09-02 19:13:54
