Originally published September 6, 2023 8:00 pm PDT
Before becoming president of Ukraine, comedian Volodymyr Zelensky’s show ran on billionaire Ihor Kolomoisky-controlled media.
QUICK FACTS:
- One of Ukraine’s wealthiest citizens, Ihor Kolomoisky, sometimes simply called “Igor” in media, has been arrested on fraud and money laundering charges.
- According to the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), Kolomoisky is a “de facto owner of a large financial and industrial group” that attempted to launder 500 million Ukrainian hryvnia ($13.5 million U.S. dollars) by “transferring it abroad, while using the infrastructure of banking institutions controlled by him.”
- In 2017, Kolomoisky left Ukraine after former Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko accused him of orchestrating a massive fraud scheme.
- Kolomoisky returned to Ukraine after Zelensky became president, raising concerns that the two figures were connected and that Kolomoisky had influence over Zelensky.
- The U.S. State Department sanctioned Kolomoisky and his family in 2021, saying that the billionaire was involved in “corrupt acts that undermined rule of law and the Ukrainian public’s faith in their government’s democratic institutions.”
KOLOMOISKY’S POLITICAL INVOLVEMENT:
- Kolomoisky became involved in Ukraine politics in 2014 when he was appointed governor of the southeastern Dnepropetrovsk Region after a Western-backed coup in Kyiv.
- He was later dismissed from the position due to a conflict with former Ukrainian President Pyotr Poroshenko.
- Kolomoisky began sharing pro-Moscow sentiments in 2019 that have been described as a “remarkable change of heart” for the billionaire.
- He noted that Russia was “stronger” than Ukraine and noted that “only money” is the “fastest way to resolve issues and restore the relationship.”
- While discussing his self-perception, Kolomoisky said, “If I put on glasses and look at myself like the whole rest of the world, I see myself as a monster, as a puppet master, as the master of Zelenskiy, someone making apocalyptic plans.”
BACKGROUND:
- In June, Former Vice President Mike Pence visited Ukraine on an unannounced trip.
- Pence said to NBC News that while he visited “just as a private citizen – being able to really see firsthand the heroism of the Ukrainian soldiers holding the line in those woods, see the heroism of the people here in Irpin that held back the Russian army, to see families whose homes were literally shelled in the midst of an unconscionable and unprovoked Russian invasion – just steels my resolve to do my part, to continue to call for strong American support for our Ukrainian friends and allies.”
- Pence has openly supported U.S. involvement in the war between Ukraine and Russia, having said in February that the United States and its allies should “accelerate the pace of military provisions” given to Ukraine until “victory is achieved.”
