Russian oligarch Pavel Fuks and lawyer Andrii Dovbenko reveal their future plans in Ukraine – Ukrainska Pravda investigation

Ukrainska Pravda journalists in London have managed to talk with Pavel Fuks, a Russian oligarch subject to Ukrainian sanctions, and lawyer Andrii Dovbenko, who is wanted for fraud in Ukraine. 

Source: The London Battalion, an investigation by Ukrainska Pravda (English subtitles will be available soon)

Details: Fuks said that he plans to return to Ukraine after the war, because "a window of opportunity" will then be opened for business. According to him, he has held a UK residence permit since 2017.

Fuks said that he has not seen any Ukrainian politicians or businessmen in London in the last 18 months. Regarding the notice of suspicion he was served by the Security Service of Ukraine (SSU) and the General Prosecutor’s Office 2023, he said that he stands "accused of being a Russian citizen". Fuks also said that he is not doing business in the UK, but taking care of the family and bringing up his children.

During his meeting with UP’s journalist, lawyer Andrii Dovbenko neither confirmed nor denied the suggestion that he is in the process of obtaining political asylum in the UK. He said he has no plans to return to Ukraine and is "working on a defence strategy".

"I don’t think they thought it through properly, I think they're wrong. I’m not at all involved in the actions I’m accused of," Dovbenko said.

The lawyer also claimed that the investigation team had been unable to find him, even though he had informed the investigators of his London address. He believes the investigation team is pretending they can’t find him.  

Background: 

• In January 2023, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) put lawyer Andrii Dovbenko on the wanted list as the organiser of a criminal group accused of fraud involving seized assets.
• NABU and the Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAP) obtained evidence that property transferred to the Asset Recovery and Management Agency in 2022 had been embezzled by an organised criminal group of four people. On 29 December, Dovbenko, the group’s organiser and owner of a number of law firms, was served with a notice of suspicion in absentia.
• In June 2023, the Guardian reported that the oligarch Pavel Fuks, who earned a fortune in Russia and was subject to Ukrainian sanctions, has residency in the UK after obtaining a special visa for the rich in 2012.
• On 16 May, Ukraine’s Security Service and the Prosecutor General’s Office reported that Fuks and the senior management of his companies, which have committed large-scale financial fraud, had been served with notices of suspicion. In response, Fuks said the allegations against him were slander. 

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