A Kyiv court has ordered the detention of Ukrainian billionaire Ihor Kolomoisky, a former close associate of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, on suspicion of fraud and money laundering. The 60-year-old tycoon will be detained for two months with an alternative of posting a bail of more than 509 million Ukrainian hryvnias (around $14 million).
Kolomoisky is one of Ukraine’s richest men and the co-founder of PrivatBank, the largest financial institution in the country. He is accused of transferring more than half a billion Ukrainian hryvnias (around $13.5 million) abroad using the infrastructure of controlled banking institutions between 2013 and 2020.
Kolomoisky backed Zelenskyy’s candidacy during the 2019 presidential election. Before becoming president, Zelenskyy rose to fame as a comedian, acting on a television channel owned by Kolomoisky. However, Zelenskyy has repeatedly denied that the businessman has had any influence over his government and vowed to fight corruption in Ukraine.