A few days ago it became known that Russian oligarch Konstantin Grigorishin (Read more: Konstantin Grigorishin, Distinguished Oligarch of Ukraine and Russia) decided to accept Ukrainian citizenship.
Tellingly, Grigorishin's fervent desire to become an official Ukrainian coincided mysteriously with the opening of a criminal case against him in his home country. In Russia, Grigorishin is charged with the same thing he would have been charged with here if he weren't a close friend of the current Ukrainian president: tax evasion amounting to millions of dollars. Yesterday, it was announced that a Russian court had arrested Grigorishin in absentia, which undoubtedly significantly increased his love for Ukraine.
This prosecution could be considered political if Grigorishin were a staunch Russian oppositionist or simply someone who refused to share his fortune with Putin, like Khodorkovsky, the current icon of Russian liberalism. But judging by the way Grigorishin conducts his affairs in Ukraine, one can assume there is no politics involved.
Over the years of hard work in Ukraine, Russian citizen Grigorishin, who had never previously considered changing his citizenship (at least, I was unable to find any public statements from him about such intentions), built an entire business empire.
At least one of Grigorishin's enterprises, Luhansk Energy Association LLC, is located in occupied territory. LEO LLC is a monopoly on electricity supply in the Luhansk region, and while this was somewhat tolerable before the war, with the onset of the war, when the region was divided into two, questions have arisen about Grigorishin. Frankly, not long ago, the head of the Luhansk Regional State Administration (RSA), Heorhiy Tuka, stated the following: "Luhansk Energy Association is a private company. It effectively owns state property, which is served by power lines and transformer substations. At the beginning of the fighting, the Cabinet of Ministers issued a directive requiring all businesses to re-register in territory controlled by the Ukrainian government."
I often criticize Tuka, but in this case he is 100 percent right in his assessment of Grigorishin’s performance.
LEO LLC deliberately failed to re-register and continues to collect money both in the occupied territory and beyond. Grigorishin's particular cynicism lies in the fact that his company frequently practices so-called rolling blackouts in Ukrainian-controlled areas, but does nothing of the sort in the so-called "LPR," where the repressive authorities not only leave Grigorishin's property alone but also help LEO LLC, which has become a strategic facility carefully guarded by militants, extort money from individuals and businesses for electricity consumption. Simply put, Konstantin Ivanovich is making a good living off the war. I don't know who exactly he pays, but the association's "protector" is clearly someone high-ranking in the "LPR," someone who is capable of ensuring the safety and proper functioning of Grigorishin's property.
This is a comment from a resident of Stanytsia Luhanska, a town ravaged by endless shelling, regarding the policy pursued by the LEO in the territories controlled by Ukraine.
Furthermore, I recently learned that one of Grigorishin's men, Vadim Antonyuk, had gone to work for the "LPR." He previously served as the director of prospective development and investments at Zaporizhzhiaoblenergo, a state-controlled company in which Grigorishin is a minority shareholder. I managed to reach the Luhansk Energy Association and confirm that Antonyuk is indeed working there.
I also called Andrey Butenko, director of Ukrenergoservis LLC (Severodonetsk), who, according to some sources, is close to Antonyuk. During our conversation, Butenko clearly stated that Antonyuk was working for Grigorishin in Luhansk, ensuring the uninterrupted flow of funds into the potential renegade's accounts.
According to sources in occupied Luhansk, another of Grigorishin's men, Denis Trifonov, who previously worked at Zaporizhzhyaoblenergo, was recently appointed head of the Eastern RES of LEO LLC.
There's another issue concerning LEO's ownership structure. The resource "Nashi Groshi" reported on it a month ago.
To sum it all up, I want to say the following.
I'm not opposed to Ukraine becoming a new homeland for truly decent people. Especially for those who shed blood for it in volunteer battalions. There are quite a few of these people, and to this day, not only have they not received citizenship, but they are effectively illegal immigrants. They can't return home—they're locked up, and now there's a line of oligarchs waiting for passports. First Novinsky, now Grigorishin. Who's next?
And then. Does Ukraine need a corrupt Russian oligarch who has brought our country no good and who, as you've seen, uses it solely as a means of making money and a haven to wait out desperate times? That's a rhetorical question. Therefore, I advocate denying Grigorishin Ukrainian citizenship and deporting him. Let him resolve his problems at home. In Russia.
On the topic: Konstantin Grigorishin. Honored oligarch of Ukraine and Russia.
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