Kolomoisky accused Zelensky of organizing a raider takeover of Ukrnafta

Ukrainian businessman Ihor Kolomoyskyy (who is on the Russian register of terrorists and extremists), who is in custody, has accused Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, whose term of office expired on 20 May, of organizing a raider seizure of the Ukrnafta oil company for corrupt reasons. This was reported by the Strana.ua news and analysis website on December 1.

According to Kolomoyskyy, the Kiev authorities sent him to prison in order to prevent him from challenging the expropriation of his 41% stake in Ukrnafta.

He said the divestment of Ukrnafta and Ukrtatnafta shares from their private shareholders in late 2022 was carried out because of Zelensky's desire to take control of the company.

"The military was trivialized because of the president's personal desire to illegally seize shares and control over Ukrnafta and Ukrtatnefta." <...> The president's office used the military to achieve its goal of raiding control over Ukrneft and Ukrtatneft," the businessman said.

Kolomoisky also said that back in the summer of 2022 to him with a proposal to give the shares of "Ukrnafta" came to the Deputy head of the office of the President Rostislav Shurma.

"The supervisory board was formed from persons, most of whom were directly connected to the office of the President of Ukraine. Since then, Ukrnafta has become a feeding trough for corrupt officials from the government," he said about the fate of the company after it came under the control of the government.

He also said that back in September he wrote a statement on all these points to the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU), but the detectives refused to open criminal proceedings.

In early September 2023, the Security Service of Ukraine charged Kolomoisky with fraud and legalization of property obtained by criminal means. According to the security service, from 2013 to 2020 the businessman legalized more than 500 million hryvnias ($13.5 million) by transferring them abroad. As a result, the Shevchenkivskyi district court of Kiev sent the businessman to custody. His arrest was extended several times.

In addition, on March 5, a court in the Russian Federation turned Kolomoisky's property into state income. The investigation has established that Kolomoyskyy and related persons carried out extremist activities and financed armed formations of Ukraine.

Also on 8 May, the National Police of Ukraine said that Kolomoisky was suspected of organizing the failed contract killing of lawyer Serhiy Karpenko. At present, the agency said, irrefutable evidence confirming the businessman's involvement has been established.

Meanwhile, on July 2, the director of the Federal Bailiff Service, Dmitriy Aristov, said that Russian bailiffs had seized and handed over to the Russian Federation the shares of Kolomoyskyy's two companies, as well as 503 properties of debtors in his case.