The High Anti-Corruption Court has seized former MP Tsaryov’s assets and transferred them to the state: details
28 April 16:14
The High Anti-Corruption Court has confiscated the assets of former MP Oleg Tsarev, who was found guilty by Ukrainian courts of inciting separatism and financing terrorism, reports "Komersant Ukrainian", citing the High Anti-Corruption Court.
“On Tuesday, April 28, a panel of judges of the High Anti-Corruption Court granted the claim filed by the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine and imposed on the former member of the Ukrainian parliament (speaker of the so-called parliaments of the DPR and LPR) the sanction provided for in paragraph 1-1 of Part 1 of Article 4 of the Law of Ukraine ‘On Sanctions,’ the High Anti-Corruption Court stated in a press release.
The statement does not specify the former MP’s name; according to Interfax-Ukraine, it refers specifically to Tsarev.
The court ordered the confiscation of a trailer and assets located in the Dnipropetrovsk region—21 land plots, buildings and structures, and corporate rights—for the state treasury.
The court’s decision will take legal effect after the deadline for filing an appeal by all parties to the case has expired.
What is known about Tsarev
Oleg Tsarev was born on June 2, 1970, in Dnipro. After graduating from the Moscow Engineering Physics Institute in 1992, he returned to Ukraine, where he began his career in business. In the 1990s, Tsarev was involved in entrepreneurship, managing various companies, ranging from insurance companies to a paper mill and a bread-baking plant.
Tsarev began his political career in 2002, when he was first elected to the Ukrainian Parliament. Over the course of four legislative sessions (IV–VII), he represented the Party of Regions in the Verkhovna Rada, becoming one of the most recognizable faces of that political force.
In parliament, Tsarev earned a reputation as the faction’s “fighter,” actively participating in political confrontations and brawls, particularly during the ratification of the controversial Kharkiv Agreements.
Euromaidan and the Pro-Russian Course
During the Revolution of Dignity in 2013–2014, Oleg Tsarev took a hardline anti-Ukrainian and pro-Russian stance. He openly opposed the protesters, threatening to “clear Maidan within an hour.” Tsarev also initiated the compilation of a list of 36 foreign citizens, including politicians and experts, whom he demanded be declared persona non grata for alleged interference in Ukraine’s internal affairs.
After Yanukovych’s flight in February 2014, Tsarev definitively embraced separatism. He ran for president of Ukraine, but his campaign devolved into a series of provocations.
In Mykolaiv and Kyiv, he was attacked by pro-Ukrainian activists who accused him of treason. Ultimately, Tsarev withdrew his candidacy and openly called for the election to be disrupted.
Leader of the separatists and “speaker of Novorossiya”
In the spring of 2014, Tsarev became one of the leaders of the so-called “Southeastern Movement,” which sought to split Ukraine. On June 26, 2014, he was elected “speaker of parliament” of the fake union of the “DPR” and “LPR.” Later, Tsarev continued his activities in Russia. He became a co-founder of the “Committee to Save Ukraine”—an organization established in Moscow by former high-ranking Ukrainian officials who had fled the country.
The Verkhovna Rada stripped Tsarev of his parliamentary immunity on June 3, 2014, authorizing his arrest. Since then, he has been hiding from Ukrainian justice on Russian territory.
Full-scale invasion and coup attempt in Crimea
With the start of the full-scale Russian invasion in February 2022, Oleg Tsarev reappeared in the media. He participated in propaganda events in the occupied territories of the Kyiv region and, according to the investigation, proposed to the head of the military administration of Kryvyi Rih, Oleksandr Vilkul, that he surrender the city to the occupiers, a proposal that was categorically rejected.
On October 27, 2023, an assassination attempt was made on Tsarev in Yalta, on the grounds of a sanatorium he owns. He was shot twice and was hospitalized in serious condition. The Security Service of Ukraine claimed responsibility for the operation.
Legal Consequences and Sanctions
Oleg Tsarev’s activities have been duly assessed under the law. In Ukraine, a series of criminal proceedings have been opened against him for treason, separatism, and collaboration. As a result, he was sentenced in absentia twice to imprisonment—for 12 and 8 years.
Since Tsarev is in hiding from justice, he has been placed on an international wanted list, and his diplomatic passport was revoked long ago. To top it off, to increase pressure and isolation, both Ukraine and the European Union have imposed personal sanctions against him.
