Ukrainian oligarch Igor Kolomoisky arrested on fraud charges
A court in Kyiv has ordered the arrest of Ukrainian billionaire Igor Kolomoisky on charges of fraud and money laundering, the AFP and EFE news agencies reported.
The 60-year-old oligarch, who was a major financial backer and media supporter of President Volodymyr Zelensky in his 2019 election campaign, appeared in court on Saturday night wearing a yellow T-shirt and a blue vest, the colours of the Ukrainian flag. At the end of the hearing, the court ordered Kolomoisky to be held in pre-trial detention for two months and set bail at 509 million hryvnias (about $12.7 million), which his lawyer said he would not pay.
According to Ukraine's Security Service (SBU), Kolomoisky is accused of fraud and illegal acquisition of property. Specifically, the prosecution has alleged that between 2013 and 2020 he conducted money laundering operations worth over 570 million hryvnias abroad, using the infrastructure of banks under his control.
When asked about the charges against him, Kolomoisky told reporters that he "totally" disagrees with them. In his nightly address on Saturday, President Zelensky made an indirect reference to the case, praising the "determination" of the authorities to move forward on cases that have been "blocked for decades."
Translation by Iurie Tataru
