Former business partner of Head of Office of the President of Ukraine sees rapid growth in his business

Ukrainian journalists have found out that Artem Koliubaiev, former business partner of Andrii Yermak, Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, has expanded his construction business, become a co-owner of a drone manufacturing firm, and had 20 million hryvnias (approximately US$547,500) invested in his film production company.

Source: an investigation by Bihus.Info

Details: Bihus.Info journalists previously reported that after Yermak’s appointment to the Office of the President, Koliubaiev got involved with ENSO, a construction company with ties to pro-Russian politicians Viktor Medvedchuk and Vadym Stolar.

In early 2023, ENSO’s construction sites came to a standstill. Stolar returned to Ukraine from abroad because of the threat of losing his parliamentary mandate. 

Koliubaiev and one of ENSO’s executives then set up a new company, hinting at Koliubaiev’s close ties to the firm.

ENSO’s subsidiaries kept paying significant amounts of money to Koliubaiev and his wife Kateryn – about 6 million hryvnias (approximately US$164,300) in the first six months of 2023.

ENSO later announced that it would resume construction at all its sites. While ENSO’s accounts were seized because some of its shares turned out to be controlled by pro-Kremlin Medvedchuk’s entourage, the firm opened new ones and continued to finance its construction projects.

Meanwhile, Ukrainska Pravda reported that Stolar, who was banned from leaving Ukraine, started travelling outside the country again in April.

In the spring of 2023, Koliubaiev held on to his position as chairman of the Council for State Support of Cinematography, though his term was about to expire. The government decided to extend his term until the end of martial law and for another three months afterward.

In June, Ukraine’s National Securities Commission announced the launch of a new type of securities – credit notes – an experiment it said was made possible because a private firm, Market Consult Plus, applied for and oversaw the project.

Journalists found that Market Consult Plus is owned by Koliubaiev and four other funds with ties to both the ENSO construction company and Koliubaiev himself.

In June, Koliubaiev’s Mainstream Pictures film production firm also received over 20 million hryvnias (approximately US$547,500) in budget funds from the state-owned Multimedia Broadcasting Platform of Ukraine to make three films.

Koliubaiev and Alexei Kiryushchenko, a Russian director of Ukrainian origin, also became the co-owners of Culver, a UAV manufacturing company. They each received 5% stakes in Culver’s subsidiaries.

The investigation found that the drones manufactured by Culver are popular with the military and have been purchased with funds from the United24 fund started by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

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