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Lawyers: Kolomoisky won't pay bail in fraud case

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Ukrainian oligarch Ihor Kolomoisky's lawyers said late on Sept. 2 that the defendant will not pay the Hr 509 million ($14 million) bail set by a Kyiv court after he was charged with fraud and money laundering.

According to reports by Ukrainian media outlets, the lawyers said that they would appeal by Sept. 7 and claimed that the court had committed a number of violations.

The hearing was closed to the public due to the defendant's request.

The lawyers said Kolomoisky was transported to the Security Service (SBU) detention facility on Askoldiv Lane in Kyiv.

Earlier on Sept. 2, Ukraine's Security Service published photos showing law enforcers confronting Kolomoisky at his home and conducting a search of the premises. Kolomoisky was charged during the search with fraud and money laundering.

The Security Service said in its official statement that Kolomoisky is suspected of laundering over Hr 500 million ($13.5 million) in 2013-2020.

Kolomoisky last visited the National Anti-Corruption Bureau in October, after a search at his vacation home at the Bukovel ski resort. His Dnipro home was searched in February.

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The oligarch controlled Ukrtatnafta, Ukraine's largest refining company, until it was seized by the government in November, citing it as a critical national resource during martial law.

The company reportedly refused to pay Hr 3.2 billion ($90 million) in taxes last year.    

Kolomoisky also owned over 40% of Ukrnafta, an oil and gas extractor, through multiple smaller companies in his orbit. The Ukrainian state seized this company as well last year.

In 2016, the government also nationalized PrivatBank, the country's largest bank - when Kolomoisky co-owned it, the bank's fraudulent activities left a $5.5 billion hole in its balance sheet.

The combative oligarch's business dealings through these companies careened from scandal to scandal over the previous decade.

Court arrests Kolomoisky, sets $14 million bail
Kyiv’s Shevchenkivskyi district court on Sept. 2 put oligarch Ihor Kolomoisky under arrest until Oct. 31 and set a Hr 509 million ($14 million) bail for him, Ukrainian online newspaper Ukrainska Pravda reported.
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Asami Terajima

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Asami Terajima is a reporter at the Kyiv Independent covering Ukrainian military issues, front-line developments, and politics. She is the co-author of the weekly War Notes newsletter. She previously worked as a business reporter for the Kyiv Post focusing on international trade, infrastructure, investment, and energy. Originally from Japan, Terajima moved to Ukraine during childhood and completed her bachelor’s degree in Business Administration in the U.S. She is the winner of the Thomson Reuters Foundation's Kurt Schork Award in International Journalism 2023 (Local Reporter category) and the George Weidenfeld Prize, awarded as part of Germany's Axel Springer Prize 2023. She was also featured in the Media Development Foundation’s “25 under 25: Young and Bold” 2023 list of emerging media makers in Ukraine.

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