Ukrainian oligarch served third notice of suspicion

Ukrainian oligarch and businessman Ihor Kolomoiskyi has been served with a third notice of suspicion.. 

Source: Serhii Leschenko, adviser to the head of the Office of the President, on Telegram

Details: Leschenko claims this is the result of an investigation conducted by the Economic Security Bureau.

The documents claim that Kolomoiskyi is suspected of:

 - organising the forgery of documents for the transfer of funds

 - organising the taking of someone else's property by an organised group on a particularly large scale

- the acquisition and disposal of property in respect of which the actual circumstances indicate that it was obtained by criminal means.

The pre-trial investigation established that Kolomoiskyi organised and headed an organised group. It also included Serhii Volkov, the head of the Kyiv branch of PrivatBank and other officials from the Kyiv branch and PrivatBank’s head office. 

Kolomoiskyi, as the organiser, and other group members hatched a plan of criminal activity aiming to seize PrivatBank's funds. It consisted of artificially making it look like cash was deposited on behalf of Kolomoiskyi at the cash desk of PrivatBank’s head office, accounting for it, registering the transport of the non-existent cash by collectors, and so on.

Artificial cash deposits on behalf of Kolomoiskyi took place from 26 March 2013 to 18 February 2014 in the total amount of UAH 5,878,000,000 (approx. US$153,472,584.86).

Subsequently, non-cash funds in the amount of UAH 5,878,000,000 were laundered by transferring them to several recipients:

- The football team DNIPRO LLC 

- To Kolomoiskyi's own account

- An organisation called the United Jewish Community of Ukraine 

- PROTON-21 LLC

- YUBI LLC

- The football team GAMBIT FC PLC

- NPK-HALYCHUNA PJSC, an oil refining complex in Halychyna

- Topping up his own card account at PrivatBank

- To a bank account at AIBOX Bank JSC with subsequent transfer of funds to the accounts of the following non-resident companies:

- MARKS AND SOKOLOV LLC (USA)

-  HUGHES HUBBARD AND REED LLP (USA)

- FIELDFISHER LLP (United Kingdom),

- NOMEA LAW FIRM (Switzerland).

Background: 

• On 2 September, the Security Service of Ukraine, the Economic Security Bureau and the Prosecutor General's Office served Kolomoiskyi with a notice of suspicion under Articles 190 and 209 of the Criminal Code: fraud and legalisation (laundering) of property obtained by criminal means.
• Shevchenko District Court of Kyiv selected pre-trial restrictions for Kolomoiskyi and remanded him in custody for a period of 60 days with the possibility of bail in the amount of almost UAH 510,000,000 (approx. US$13,315,926.89).
• On 7 September, detectives from the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine, with the approval of the Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office, reported that a notice of suspicion had been served for misappropriation of bank funds in the amount of more than UAH 9.2 billion (approx. US$240208877.28) on the ultimate beneficial owner of PJSC CB PrivatBank and five members of a group organised by it. 
• On 8 September, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau and the Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's office seized Kolomoiskyi's assets and property for two days.
• He faces up to 12 years in prison.

Ukrainska Pravda is the place where you will find the most up-to-date information about everything related to the war in Ukraine. Follow us on Twitter, support us, or become our patron!