On September 3, several media outlets reported that Igor Kholomoisky, the infamous oligarch and once one of the most important backers of the Kiev regime, was arrested on charges of corruption and embezzlement in excess of $130 million in the 2013-2020 time period. He was also given the option of posting a 500 million hryvnia (₴) bail, which is approximately $13.5 million. Obviously, we certainly won't shed a tear for a corrupt oligarch and one of the main financial backers of the infamous "Azov Battalion". However, the very fact that such an important figure in the Neo-Nazi junta's power structure was arrested is a rather interesting development. Needless to say, it certainly doesn't have anything to do with justice, unless one believes that the Kiev regime had a sudden "anti-corruption catharsis".
Kolomoisky is one of the richest people in Ukraine, with an estimated fortune of well over $1.6 billion. According to a statement by the SBU (Security Service of Ukraine), he tried to launder over ₴500 million by "transferring it abroad, while using the infrastructure of banking institutions controlled by him". Kolomoisky was one of Zelensky's main backers when he ran for president in 2019, a fact that even the New York Times admitted in their recent coverage of the arrest. According to the NYT, Kolomoisky's shady dealings "have included oil and banking, and he was once considered a patron of Mr. Zelensky, a former comedian whose popular shows were broadcast on Mr. Kolomoisky’s television channel before he successfully ran for the presidency". The NYT is usually very careful not to disrupt Zelensky's image of "Ukrainian Churchill", making this admission all the more peculiar.
"Suspicions of corruption and embezzlement have dogged Mr. Kolomoisky for years. In 2017, he left Ukraine for Switzerland and Israel after the government of then-President Petro Poroshenko seized a bank he co-owned and accused him of a large-scale fraud that threatened to destabilize Ukraine’s economy, " the NYT report further states, adding: "He returned in 2019 after Mr. Zelensky’s defeat of Mr. Poroshenko, raising fears that his ties to the new president would help him regain his economic and political clout."
However, this part of the report by the infamous neoliberal propaganda mouthpiece indicates that it's still trying to present Zelensky as some "anti-corruption hero". (more...)
Kolomoisky's arrest – justice or just another power grab by Zelensky?
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