The Power Within: The Kyiv Independent’s first-ever magazine. Be among the first to get it.

pre-order now
Skip to content
Edit post

Court arrests investment banker Mazepa in connection to illegal land acquisition

by Kateryna Denisova and The Kyiv Independent news desk January 19, 2024 11:23 PM 2 min read
Igor Mazepa is the director general of the Concorde Capital investment company in Kyiv, Ukraine. (Igor Mazepa/flickr.com)
This audio is created with AI assistance

The Kyiv Pechersk District court ordered the arrest of the detained Ukrainian businessman and the founder of the Concorde Capital investment company, Igor Mazepa, Suspilne reported on Jan. 19.

He was taken into custody until Feb. 27 with an alternative of almost Hr 350 million ($9.1 million) bail, even though the prosecution insisted on bail in the amount of Hr 700 million ($18.2 million).

Mazepa was detained a day earlier as he tried to cross the border into Poland. According to Concorde Capital, he was on his way to the Davos forum in Switzerland while law enforcement officers raided the company’s office.

On Jan. 19, the State Investigation Bureau said that the businessman is suspected of illegally seizing land near Kyiv, calling him "the organizer of a criminal scheme."

The matter concerns seven hectares of land on which the Kyiv Hydroelectric Power Plant facilities are located.  Tetiana Sapian, a communications advisor of the State Bureau of Investigation, said the construction could put the capital’s infrastructure at risk.

Mazepa denied the accusations. He said that the case "concerns the events of ten years ago," claiming "the persecution of businessmen."

The Ukrainian publication NV said on Jan. 18, citing its sources, that Mazepa's detention is related to the acquisition of land rights for the construction of the luxurious cottage resort Goodlife Park in the Vyshhorod district, Kyiv Oblast.

The resort, lying only 12 kilometers from the capital, was built in 2013 and covers an area of 40 hectares.

Mazepa founded Concorde Capital in 2004. The company provides banking, brokerage, and asset management services and is considered to be one of Ukraine's leading investment banks.

For several months in 2014, Mazepa was a supervisory committee member of Alfa-Bank, run by a banking group of Russian oligarchs Mikhail Fridman and Pyotr Aven. Last year, Ukraine nationalized the Ukrainian branch of Alfa-Bank, renamed Sense Bank.

Investigation: Apparent Russian disinformation group posing as ex-president Poroshenko targets foreign fighters in Ukraine
TOP FINDINGS: * An apparent Russian state-aligned group is targeting Ukraine’s International Legion in a disinformation campaign * The Kyiv Independent obtained and analyzed exclusive video that shows the group used doctored footage to pose as the Ukrainian ex-president on a Zoom call that took p…

News Feed

8:06 AM  (Updated: )

Zelensky visits South Africa but cuts trip short after mass Russian strike.

"We count on South Africa’s meaningful participation in the International Coalition for the return of thousands of Ukrainian children abducted by Russia. We will also certainly strengthen our cultural and educational ties," President Volodymyr Zelensky said.
5:30 AM

Trump says he may meet Putin 'shortly' after May Middle East visit.

Despite ongoing ceasefire negotiations, Trump and Putin have yet to have direct contact, communicating only through their officials. Trump's last in-person encounter with his Russian counterpart was during the 2018 Helsinki Summit during the U.S. president's first term.
8:08 PM

Ukrainians react to US proposal of recognizing Crimea as Russian.

The U.S. media outlet Axios reported on April 23 that the U.S. President Donald Trump administration's final proposal for ending the Russia-Ukraine war included the U.S. de jure recognizing Russia's annexation of Crimea and de facto recognizing its control of other occupied Ukrainian territories. We asked Kyiv residents for their reactions to the U.S. proposal.
7:21 PM  (Updated: )

Trump says 'nobody is asking' Ukraine to recognize Crimea as Russian.

"Nobody is asking (President Volodymyr) Zelensky to recognize Crimea as Russian Territory, but if he wants Crimea, why didn’t they fight for it eleven years ago when it was handed over to Russia without a shot being fired?" U.S. President Donald Trump wrote.
MORE NEWS

Editors' Picks

Enter your email to subscribe
Please, enter correct email address
Subscribe
* indicates required
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required

Subscribe

* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
Explaining Ukraine with Kate Tsurkan
* indicates required
Successfuly subscribed
Thank you for signing up for this newsletter. We’ve sent you a confirmation email.