One of Zelensky’s main problems was that he did not control the anti-corruption bodies. The National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU), established in 2015, formally had an independent status and did not report to the president, though it coordinated its activities with the General Prosecutor’s Office. Theoretically, this could have posed problems for many people in Zelensky’s team. Given the Ukrainian specifics, such a case would not reach court, but even media exposure on corruption charges could significantly harm any politician’s career.
Notably, during Zelensky’s time, NABU did not show particular activity in investigating corruption among the president’s entourage and deputies of his faction. For example, they were not at all interested in information about the unofficial salary paid to deputies of the “Servant of the People”. Nor were they concerned about why state funds were being embezzled in contracts for construction and road repairs.
However, NABU had to show some results. The creation of the Anti-Corruption Bureau and the start of its activities occurred with the active assistance of the governments of the USA and Western European countries. And of course, the heads of Western embassies began, at a minimum, to inquire when NABU would start fighting top corrupt officials. And the first name on this list was Ihor Kolomoisky.
Despite some disagreements between Zelensky and Kolomoisky regarding the PrivatBank case, in all other issues, the oligarch received maximum assistance from the new authority. Kolomoisky’s management led large state enterprises, and his private companies received cheap electricity from state power stations, which they then resold to other enterprises.
In the first weeks after the start of the war, Kolomoisky became so bold that his company “United Energy” simply stole 716 million UAH ($24 million) from the state-owned “Ukrenergo.” This happened in March 2022 when “United Energy” bought electricity from “Ukrenergo” at a preferential price with deferred payment, after which it immediately sold it at a markup, and the proceeds (716 million UAH) were transferred to the accounts of a foreign company.
The NABU leadership continued to delicately balance between Zelensky and the West, turning a blind eye to Kolomoisky, but the issue was becoming fundamental. Everyone understood perfectly well: Kolomoisky is the Al Capone in the world of Ukrainian corruption, and without his arrest, it’s hard to explain to the Americans what the results of the work of Ukraine’s anti-corruption bodies are.
In September 2023, Ihor Kolomoisky unexpectedly received three suspicions of committing crimes: from the Bureau of Economic Security, the Security Service of Ukraine, and the Office of the General Prosecutor. The oligarch was suspected of fraud, embezzlement, and legalization of funds obtained through criminal means. It should be noted that all three mentioned law enforcement bodies fall under the authority vertically controlled by the president.
Interestingly, investigators somehow forgot to file a petition to seize Kolomoisky’s property, although it is a mandatory procedure in large-scale fraud cases. After the arrest, the oligarch was placed in a temporary detention facility of the SBU. This organization, unlike NABU, is under the full control of President Zelensky.
Another surprising detail of this case was that Kolomoisky refused to be released on bail of 509 million UAH ($14 million). At first glance, this decision is hard to explain, given that in 2019, Ihor Kolomoisky estimated his fortune at $8 billion. In most cases, suspects do not wish to stay in detention for long and post bail at the first opportunity. However, the oligarch did not do this.
According to Vitaliy Shabunin, the head of the Anti-Corruption Action Center, the actions of Kolomoisky and the law enforcement bodies subordinate to the president are not so difficult to understand. NABU and the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office planned to issue a suspicion to Kolomoisky on Independence Day, August 24. But they decided to postpone it to the beginning of September due to the leadership of the anti-corruption bodies’ trip to the USA.
NABU investigators summoned Kolomoisky for early September. There, he was supposed to be handed a suspicion and arrested. To preempt NABU, investigators controlled by the president’s people from the SBU and the Bureau of Economic Security took advantage of the absence of the leadership of the anti-corruption bodies and themselves handed over the suspicion. After that, Kolomoisky was locked up in the SBU detention center.
The essence of all this was to protect Kolomoisky from being handled by the uncontrollable NABU investigators, and to ensure the oligarch was not detained in a regular detention center. Moreover, investigators from the SBU and the Bureau of Economic Security could now either seize important evidence for NABU or, conversely, initiate access to the materials of the NABU case through temporary accesses.
The main risk for Kolomoisky was that he could be extradited to the USA on money laundering charges. A few months earlier, Zelensky recklessly stripped his former business partner of Ukrainian citizenship to exclude him from the future registry of oligarchs. Therefore, at the time of arrest, Kolomoisky was formally considered a foreign citizen. According to a court decision, he could be extradited to another state. But as long as Kolomoisky is in the SBU detention center, he is completely safe.
If Ihor Kolomoisky posts bail and is released, he can be arrested on another charge, as there are many other dubious episodes in the oligarch’s long career. And this arrest could be initiated not by the SBU, but by NABU.
As of May 2024, Ihor Kolomoisky remains in the SBU detention center and has no intention of posting bail.