Oligarch Kolomoisky returns to Ukraine
The Ukrainian oligarch Ihor Kolomoisky has flown to Ukraine from Israel, theBabel reports. He arrived at the Dnipropetrovsk Airport on a Privat Group plane with the registration number UR-PRT.
Kolomoisky confirmed that he has “returned” to Ukraine. When asked what he would do first, he responded that he does not know.
The Ukrainian-Israeli oligarch had said previously that he intends to return to Ukraine after the inauguration of President-elect Volodymyr Zelensky.
Yuriy Butusov, director-in-chief of Censor.net, explained that Kolomoisky took a charter flight from Tel Aviv, accompanied by fellow businessman Timur Mindich and Ukrainian MP Andriy Shypko from the Revival party.
Although his comings and goings are monitored, Kolomoisky is not on Ukraine’s wanted list, and was therefore able to enter the country without difficulty.
The oligarch has been living in Israel since September 2018. In an earlier comment to the Mirror Weekly, he promised to return to Ukraine after the official announcement of the presidential election results. The election was won by Kolomoisky’s associate, the comedian Volodymyr Zelensky.
Kolomoiskyhas reportedly said that Ukraine “needs millions of Zelenskys”. He also claimed that Zelensky’s nomination in the elections was not revenge against current president Petro Poroshenko for nationalizing PrivatBank.
When asked in what capacity he is willing to work with Zelensky, Kolomoisky responded that he is “willing to advise the newly elected president”.
In April, Ukrainian courts made three rulings in favor of Kolomoisky in the PrivatBank case. On 18 April, the District Administrative Court of Kyiv declared the nationalization of the bank illegal and, on April 19, revoked the ruling on the bank’s list of insiders. On 20 April, the Pecherskyi District Court of Kyiv revoked Kolomoyskyi’s personal surety for loan refinancing. The oligarch had said previously that he wants $2 billion for PrivatBank.
PrivatBank was nationalized on 21 December 2016. The government acquired 100% of its capital and spent tens of billions of hryvnia to recapitalize it.
The National Bank of Ukraine believed that before the nationalization, PrivatBank’s entire corporate portfolio consisted of insider loans, issued to companies linked to the two major shareholders, Kolomoisky and his business partner Hennadiy Boholubov.