When will Kolomoisky's agents stop tearing Ukraine apart?
According to experts, attempts to make changes to the state system will begin immediately after the end of the war..
The war with Russia has pushed serious internal problems, which often threatened the very existence of our state, to the periphery, and which have not disappeared. One of these, of course, is the oligarchic economy and its beneficiaries, one of whom is Ihor Kolomoisky and the so-called "Kolomoisky Agents," who, despite his summer deprived of Ukrainian citizenship, continues to quietly intensify. Why have Ukrainians remembered it in recent days and whether our country has a chance to free itself from oligarchic "guardianship"? Read the article "Apostrophe».
Kolomoisky's Agents: Igor Valerievich is bankrolling
Recently, the US Supreme Court rejected Ukraine's appeal in a case seeking $173 million in damages against Russia's Tatneft. The case concerns the Russian company's loss of control over the Kremenchug Oil Refinery. Back in 1994, Ukrtatnafta was created on the basis of the Kremenchug Oil Refinery in accordance with decrees of the presidents of Ukraine and Tatarstan. Previously, 18,296% of Ukrtatnafta's shares were owned by entities close to Tatneft, while the Tatarstan Ministry of Property owned 28,7788%, and Tatneft owned another 8,6%.
Following a series of legal proceedings in Ukraine, some Tatarstan shareholders in the refinery were virtually wiped out. The company now has shareholders close to Igor Kolomoisky's Privat Group and Gennady BogolyubovBack in 2014, the arbitration court ruled in favor of Tatneft and ordered Ukraine to pay the Russian company $112 million in compensation, plus interest. Ukraine also lost the appeal. Now, however, it has lost the cassation appeal and received a huge "gift" from one of our most beloved citizens (literally), Igor Valerievich Kolomoisky.
On Monday, October 3, he caused a media stir by visiting the Kyiv office of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) for questioning. The National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) had searched his residence in September as part of an investigation into the embezzlement of Ukrnafta property. The oligarch arrived at the NABU in a motorcade and spent 45 minutes being questioned by the NABU regarding abuses at Ukrnafta, where he had controlled the management for many years. Specifically, according to NABU, the oligarch colluded in the transfer of approximately 100 billion hryvnias worth of natural gas stored in underground storage facilities. In the summer of 2022, NABU launched an investigation into Ukrnafta's sales of autogas to Kolomoiskyi's companies at half the market price. Eight people had previously been charged in this case. The suspects face 7 to 12 years in prison with confiscation of property. However, Kolomoisky is not among the potential "Sedelians", and it does not look like he will appear.
After drinking coffee at the NABU, Mr. Kolomoisky should have been pleased. He and his partner, Bogolyubov, had recently had several reasons to celebrate. In early September, the State Property Fund received a new head. This was Rustem Umerov, a member of parliament from the Golos party. A few weeks after Umerov's appointment, the Cabinet of Ministers appointed a new first deputy. By order of September 27, this new deputy was Dmytro Klymenkov, who had worked for the past ten years at Ukraine International Airlines (UIA), a company co-owned by Ihor Kolomoisky. This means that the former top manager of the oligarch's company was appointed first deputy chairman of the State Property Fund.
The press service of the State Property Fund reported that “Klimenkov will be responsible for resuming operations at major state-owned enterprises and implementing modern corporate management standards."In other words, the newly appointed deputy chairman of the State Property Fund will oversee the operations of the largest state-owned enterprises, shape their personnel policies, and influence the dismissal and appointment of managers. Furthermore, Klymenkov may chair the supervisory boards of the largest enterprises managed by the State Property Fund. Sounds like a new jackpot for Kolomoisky, doesn't it?
As for Kolomoisky's partner, Gennady Bogolyubov, it seems he, too, is continuing to thrive despite the war. August 17, 2022 Bogdan Lvov, a controversial judge with a Russian passport By his decision, he finally transferred the Kyiv hotel "Mir," previously owned by PrivatBank. Back in 2016, the hotel was transferred to the bank during nationalization as an asset belonging to former shareholders. But Lvov successfully repossessed the hotel and transferred it to a Kolomoisky associate.
Incidentally, Kolomoisky and his associate knew Lvov long before his name became widely known in the media. In October 2021, Lvov attempted to secure favorable rulings for Kolomoisky in the Delaware Chancery Court, but a huge uproar ensued and the scheme fell through. It appears Lvov's work for Kolomoisky in the Supreme Court has ended, but he is only the tip of the iceberg of "Kolomoisky agents" in Ukrainian courts. So what should be done about the favorable conditions for the oligarch, who was called the main beneficiary of the current government's rise to power, and will the war affect the state's relations with Ukraine's wealthy?
Post-war de-oligarchization?
As political analyst Evgeny Magda notes, the confrontation between parts of civil society and the media and the oligarchs used to be as public as possible, but now public activity has been noticeably limited.
"We can't yet count on significant positive changes, but in any case, we must wait for NABU's actions—to see what kind of expertise they can demonstrate, rather than playing the scapegoat. There's hope that the effectiveness of the NABU-SAP-VAKS triad has increased since Klymenko's appointment as head of the SAP, but we live in a society where the effectiveness of such an agency is determined by the spectacular, high-profile arrest of some figure, and nothing else. This is a serious problem, because effectiveness should be measured by how quickly crimes are solved—and it would be good to work more effectively in this area," Magda tells Apostrophe.
In his opinion, the issue with Kolomoisky and the oligarchs has a broader context. After all, the problem isn't just about restructuring the relationship between society, the state, and big business, but also about changing the situation so that the oligarchs lose access to state resources and, at the same time, a middle class can emerge in Ukraine. However, there are currently no prospects for this to emerge: the war has raised serious questions about our overall well-being.
Political strategist Oleksiy Golobutskyi, for his part, believes that nothing bad will happen to Kolomoisky and his people until the parliament is reformed and new elections are held. According to the expert, the Americans, who understand the oligarch's potential harm, have other things on their minds right now: they don't want to deal with such trivial matters right now. But, of course, no one will forget Kolomoisky and his antics in any case. Everyone understands that Kolomoisky and his fellow oligarchs won't be rebuilding Ukraine's economy after the war; Western aid will be the primary source of that assistance.
"Now's not the time for showdowns; everyone understands that. Zelensky has enormous credibility worldwide. Even Biden has stopped talking about corruption and the oligarchy in Ukraine. They're worried about the future: if, in a difficult time for themselves and the world, they give us not super-large amounts, but sufficient money, tens of billions, then the political class shouldn't doubt the wisdom of such steps, even if Kolomoisky steals a billion in the process. The Ukrainian case will be the most important for Biden, even if that's not what he wanted," adds Golobutsky, noting that the oligarchs themselves aren't evil. The main evil, in his view, lies in Ukraine's political system and the people, who voted for buckwheat for 30 years and didn't understand the cost of such behavior.
It's clear that Ukrainians have long sought justice, but in a simplified, Soviet-style version. It's always been the desire of the majority to "take everything and divide it all up," rather than to establish rules of the game where oligarchs are unnecessary and where there are large businessmen who don't need close ties to the government to do business. This is still difficult for Ukrainians. The elite should understand these things, and there are certain signs that this understanding is developing. However, there are also many signs that many in our "establishment" are counting on plundering Western aid with impunity after the war ends.
In fact, according to the expert, it's a question of survival—will we continue to build what we had before the war, or will healthy forces emerge that are capable of changing the system and Kolomoisky's agents disappear?
"The country has a huge military presence. True, they haven't yet become a caste like in Turkey, but they are becoming one, and they are the most respected institution in the country. If nothing changes after the war, there may be a desire to seize power, and democracy will face a challenge. Remember, there were no fundamental changes even after 2014, when the war began and Crimea was seized. That is, smaller-scale challenges have already been faced, but the conclusions were always wrong," says Alexey Golobutsky.
Yevhen Magda agrees with him, asserting that there is and will be a demand for justice in Ukrainian society.
"For this request to be realized, the war must end, political life must resume, and we must see the principles by which our politicians will begin to operate. If the war doesn't change these principles, it will be one of the greatest post-war disappointments. I am convinced that with the end of the war, everything will only just begin," the expert concluded.
Is this really deoligarchization?
Kolomoisky and Bogolyubov secured a one-year postponement of the PrivatBank trial in London.
Subscribe to our channels in Telegram, Facebook, Twitter, VC — Only new faces from the section CRYPT!