News Feed

Zelensky thanks law enforcement after Kolomoisky arrest

2 min read
Zelensky thanks law enforcement after Kolomoisky arrest
Ukraine's Security Service published a photo of the moment when oligarch Ihor Kolomoisky was officially handed criminal charges. (Ukraine's Security Service)

In his evening address on Sept. 2, President Volodymyr Zelensky thanked law enforcement following the arrest of businessman Ihor Kolomoisky who is suspected for fraud and money laundering.

"I thank the Ukrainian law enforcement for their determination to bring every case stalled for decades to a just conclusion," Zelensky said, adding that the law "must work."

Vowing democracy and freedom across the country, Zelensky promised that there will be "no more decades-long 'business as usual' for those who plundered Ukraine and put themselves above the law and any rules."

Earlier on Sept. 2, Kyiv's Shevchenkivskyi district court put oligarch Ihor Kolomoisky under arrest until Oct. 31 and set a Hr 509 million ($14 million) bail for him.

Video thumbnail

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 as per defendant's request.

On the morning of 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.

Avatar
Asami Terajima

Reporter

Asami Terajima is a reporter at the Kyiv Independent covering Ukrainian military affairs and front-line developments. 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 on the Media Development Foundation's 2023 "25 under 25: Young and Bold" list of emerging media makers in Ukraine. She is among the finalists for the U.K.'s One World Media Award 2026 in the Print category and the French Bayeux Calvados-Normandy award 2025 for war correspondents in the Young Reporter category.

Read more
News Feed
Video

At NATO's Aurora 2026 military exercises in Sweden, a group of Ukrainian drone pilots was tasked with playing the role of attackers. The Kyiv Independent's Francis Farrell spoke with drone pilots from Ukraine's 20th National Guard "Lubart" Brigade, part of the 1st Azov Corps, shortly after they returned from Sweden.

Show More