Kolomoisky was not brought to the commission meeting: what is known about the disruption of his appearance before the Temporary Investigation Commission
21 January 14:49
Businessman Ihor Kolomoyskyi did not appear at a meeting of the Verkhovna Rada’s Temporary Investigation Commission, where, according to his representatives, he was to give testimony regarding corruption and violations of the law during martial law. This was reported by Ihor Kolomoyskyi’s press service , according to "Komersant Ukrainian".
The commission claims to have a court order to bring the businessman in, while Kolomoisky’s side accuses the authorities of deliberately disrupting his participation.
What happened
The TSK meeting, chaired by People’s Deputy Oleksiy Goncharenko, is taking place at the Kyiv City State Administration. According to Kolomoisky’s press service, he was invited at 12:00 to testify in the investigation of a number of high-profile cases, which the report refers to as “Mindichgate,” “Bakanovgate,” and other episodes.
However, Kolomoisky was not brought to the meeting.
Kolomoisky’s position
The press service’s statement asserts that:
- The Shevchenkivskyi District Court of Kyiv granted permission to bring Kolomoisky to participate in the work of the Temporary Investigation Commission;
- despite this, President Volodymyr Zelensky allegedly instructed the Security Service of Ukraine to prevent him from appearing at the hearing;
- Kolomoisky himself is referred to in the statement as an “illegally imprisoned political dissident.”
No documentary evidence of these claims is provided in the statement.
UPDATE: What the official authorities say
The Security Service of Ukraine cited information about a possible threat to the businessman’s life and health during transportation as the reason for his failure to appear, according to the response of the SBU’s Pre-trial Investigation Department to a request from People’s Deputy Oleksiy Goncharenko.
The SBU explained that ensuring the order of detention of persons in custody is the responsibility of the administration of places of pre-trial detention. They also noted that the procedure for keeping prisoners outside the investigative unit does not differ from the conditions of detention.
The agency cited security risks as the key argument. According to the SBU, the operational unit received information that “unidentified persons” were allegedly preparing to attack Kolomoisky’s life and health during his transfer.
“In order to minimize negative consequences, the delivery of I.V. Kolomoisky to the session hall is not considered possible,” the SBU said in its response.
What is known about Ihor Kolomoisky
Ihor Kolomoyskyi is involved in a number of criminal proceedings and has been in custody since 2023. Law enforcement agencies accuse him of financial crimes, among other things. The businessman himself publicly rejects the accusations and claims that the persecution is politically motivated.
