Planes first: why the SBU took on Kolomoisky
Opponents of President Zelensky believe that the oligarch has influence on him
Ukrainian security forces came with searches to Igor Kolomoisky as part of an investigation into fraud in the companies Ukrnafta and Ukrtatnafta, which were nationalized at the end of last year, and before that were controlled by the scandalous oligarch. “Apostrophe“Find out what the investigative actions against Kolomoisky are connected with, what their consequences will be for the oligarch, and also what does the Ukraine-EU summit and Western military aircraft have to do with it, which our country badly needs to defeat Russia.
Why the SBU took on Kolomoisky. On the trail of nationalization
On February 1, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) and the Economic Security Bureau (BEB) searched the house of oligarch Igor Kolomoisky. As reported, the investigative actions are connected with the investigation of the case of embezzlement in the companies “Ukrtatnafta” and “Ukrnafta” for 40 billion hryvnias, as well as tax and customs evasion.
As you know, last November Ukrtatnafta and Ukrnafta were nationalized along with a number of other companies. Then, in addition to the assets of Ukrtatnafta and Ukrnafta, the property of JSC Motor Sich, PJSC Zaporizhtransformator and PJSC AvtoKrAZ was alienated in favor of the state.
The authorities explained the nationalization of these companies by the fact that their products are critical for the needs of the Ukrainian army, as well as the energy sector, whose facilities were significantly damaged by enemy shelling.
The Motor Sich enterprise, associated with Vyacheslav Boguslayev, who was arrested in 2022 on charges of treason, produces engines for military helicopters and aircraft.
AvtoKrAZ produces trucks, including military ones. Before nationalization, the enterprise was controlled by oligarch Konstantin Zhevago, who was detained in France at the end of 2022 at the request of Ukraine. Now documents are being prepared for his extradition to his homeland.
Zaporizhtransformator is the largest manufacturer of powerful transformers in our country. The enterprise belonged to a citizen of Ukraine, Russia and Cyprus Konstantin Grigorishin.
At the same time, Ukrtatnafta and Ukrnafta are closely connected with Igor Kolomoisky. In the latter, he was only a minority shareholder (42% of the shares), while the controlling stake – 50% plus 1 share – belonged to the state represented by Naftogaz Ukrainy, but it was the oligarch who de facto controlled the company. As Rostyslav Shurma, deputy head of the President’s Office, recently stated, Ukrnafta refused to supply fuel to the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Is this the reason why the SBU took on Kolomoisky?
Ukrtatnafta, in turn, was actually under the complete control of Igor Kolomoisky and his business partner Gennady Bogolyubov. The company owns the only large oil refinery in Ukraine, the Kremenchug Oil Refinery, which has been destroyed as a result of rocket attacks by the occupiers.
One could assume that the current searches at Igor Kolomoisky’s place fit into the campaign declared by the Ukrainian authorities to de-oligarchize the national economy. Recall that in November last year, searches were carried out at the mining and processing enterprises of Konstantin Zhevago, and the richest Ukrainian Rinat Akhmetov “voluntarily” gave up his media assets so as not to fall under the definition of “oligarch”.
Electoral deoligarchization
However, there are significant doubts that the searches at Igor Kolomoisky’s place are part of the same effort to reduce the power of wealthy individuals, and in general, to combat corruption in our country.
“I don’t think this is a systemic struggle. I do not see that everything has changed dramatically in our country, and all the oligarchs have become “touchable”. All the same, selectivity remains, ”said Ilya Neskhodovsky, head of the analytical direction of the ANTS network, in a commentary to Apostrophe.
We want to point out that law enforcement agencies don't bother Viktor Pinchuk, for example. He has good relations with US political leaders, especially in the circles of the Democratic Party, to which current President Joe Biden belongs. Official Kyiv probably doesn't want to upset Washington in the current situation.
But it’s not very risky to confront Igor Kolomoisky, especially considering his scandalous reputation, including his connections with the current governing team.
After winning the presidential elections in 2019, Vladimir Zelensky's opponents called him nothing more than a “puppet of Kolomoisky”, suggesting the long-standing business connections between the oligarch and the former actor who became president.
Zelensky tried various ways to distance himself from Kolomoisky, but for many this was still insufficient. Even the revocation of the oligarch's Ukrainian citizenship in 2022 didn't persuade many that Igor Kolomoisky had fallen out of favor with the head of state. The main argument for this was that the oligarch was never actually prosecuted.
However, according to sources of Apostrophe, the relationship between Kolomoisky and the president's team has indeed significantly deteriorated and now remain strained, to say the least.
And, it must be acknowledged, Igor Kolomoisky is indeed in many ways a convenient target for investigations by law enforcement agencies.
“Kolomoisky has many different connections, many enterprises, many problems, and he interfered in many cases. There are problems within the country, there are problems with American justice,” says Ilya Neskhodovsky.
The American legal system has specific questions for the oligarch. Back in 2020, the US Department of Justice formally accused him of stealing billions of dollars from PrivatBank, which he previously owned, as well as laundering these funds in the United States. put forward However, this story did not progress at the time, and Igor Kolomoisky continued to feel quite comfortable, at least in Ukraine.
Why did the SBU take on Kolomoisky? Is the trade appropriate?
However, there are several circumstances that may have some connection with the past searches of the oligarch. For example, on February 3, Kyiv will host the Ukraine-EU summit, during which the issue of combating corruption in our country will certainly be raised.
Additionally, the United States is conducting an audit of the military and financial aid given to Ukraine. The main purpose of this check is to prevent misuse of allocated funds.
“It is possible that now it is a desire to show the EU the fight (against corruption) on the eve of the summit. There is a lot of dissatisfaction on the part of the European Union, this is what we are reading now in the Western press – some cooling off, and right on the eve of the summit, conducting a search of a key oligarch, to whom the EU and the United States have questions, can be a certain PR move, – investment banker and financial analyst Sergei Fursa told the publication.
After the summit and the audit, everything might slow down following the “best” Ukrainian traditions, which, of course, cannot be ruled out.
However, it's also possible that the searches will have more serious consequences for Igor Kolomoisky. It appears that the United States has not lost interest in the scandalous oligarch, and therefore will demand more decisive actions from Ukraine against him.
As we know, there is no extradition agreement between our countries, but this doesn't mean that extradition of a particular individual is impossible in principle. Additionally, we remind you that Igor Kolomoisky is no longer a citizen of Ukraine, which could also simplify the process of sending him to the United States.
“Perhaps now those who are in American power are trying to put pressure on the Ukrainian authorities,” says Ilya Neskhodovsky.
As is known, there is no extradition agreement between our countries, but this does not mean at all that extradition of this or that subject is impossible in principle. In addition, we recall that Igor Kolomoisky is no longer a citizen of Ukraine, which can also facilitate the procedure for his extradition to the United States.
Why the SBU took on Igor Kolomoisky
Thus, it is likely that some non-public bargaining is underway now. In order to carry out a powerful offensive, Ukraine is in dire need not only of tanks, for the supply of which Western partners have already given their consent in principle, but also of combat aircraft. And so far, it’s not working out so well. But everything can change – as, by the way, happened with the same tanks that the West refused to provide us with for a long time.
But Ukraine must also take a step forward. And this step could be the extradition of Igor Kolomoisky, suggests Sergey Fursa, who even voiced an interesting exchange formula: “Kolomoisky flies to the States, and F-16s fly to Ukraine.”
Victor Avdeenko
