Former Zelensky supporter accused of money laundering

Igor Kolomoysky, a billionaire, is suspected of stealing and launder more than $10 million from Ukraine.

Igor Kolomoysky, an oligarch whose support is said to have helped Vladimir Zelensky win the country’s presidency, has been warned by Ukrainian authorities that he is accused of fraud and real estate laundering.

The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) said in a statement on Saturday that the billionaire had legalised more than 500 million Ukrainian hryvnia ($13.5 million) by “transferring it abroad, while using the infrastructure of banking institutions controlled by him.” The billionaire was described as the “de facto owner of a large financial and industrial group” by the SBU.

The announcement coincides with Kiev’s continuing campaign against widespread corruption.

Kolomoysky, who is also a citizen of Cyprus and Israel, was informed that he is accused of two offences: fraud and the legalisation of property acquired illegally, according to Ukrainian officials.

Kolomoysky was “served with a motion to choose pre-trial restrictive measures,” according to the Ukrainian prosecutor general’s office, which also stated that the investigation is still ongoing in collaboration with the SBU and the nation’s economic security bureau.

SBU agents reportedly searched Kolomoysky’s residence in the first week of February, according to local media sources. The oligarch’s apparent role in the alleged theft of 40 billion hryvnia ($1.1 billion) and customs duty evasion by the Ukrtatnafta and Ukrnafta oil businesses was the focus of the raid at the time, according to reports.

Kolomoysky made his political debut in 2014 when he was named governor of the southeast Dnepropetrovsk Region as a result of a coup in Kiev supported by the West. But a year later, during a power struggle for control of Ukrnafta and the state-owned oil pipeline firm Ukrtransnafta, he was fired from his position due to a disagreement with the then-President of Ukraine, Pyotr Poroshenko.

Additionally, Kolomoysky’s PrivatBank was nationalised by Ukrainian authorities in 2016 after they deemed it to be a serious threat to the nation’s financial system due to charges of extensive fraud.

Kolomoysky is also largely regarded as having played a significant part in President Vladimir Zelensky’s ascent to power. Zelensky was a comedian before starting his political campaign in 2019, and a Kolomoysky-controlled media company aired his performance. Though he denied having a personal relationship with him, the billionaire admitted that he “wanted” Zelensky to win the presidency.

Kolomoysky and his family members were both sanctioned by the US State Department in 2021 due to his involvement in “corrupt acts that undermined rule of law and the confidence of the Ukrainian public in their government’s democratic institutions.” He lost his Ukrainian passport in July 2022, according to Ukrainian media. The necessary presidential directive is secret, despite the fact that many authorities in Kiev corroborated the story and the billionaire himself called the reports “nonsense.”