Kolomoisky on $40 million: “I never gave Zelenskyy any 40 million”
11 December 19:50
Businessman Ihor Kolomoisky has denied the information that he allegedly transferred $40 million to offshore companies associated with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. He said this in the courtroom, "Komersant Ukrainian" reports.
The information about the transfer of funds appeared after the publication of an investigation by Slidstvo.Info in October 2021, which was based on the Pandora Papers.
What Kolomoisky said
Ihor Kolomoisky strongly denied that he personally transferred $40 million to offshore companies associated with Volodymyr Zelenskyy, claiming that the information was launched by politicians.
When asked about his involvement in this amount, Kolomoisky commented:
“What makes you think I gave any 40 million? MP Ariev once said this. I have never given Zelenskyy any 40 million and was not going to give him any. As for the 40 million that was investigated, it was a commercial activity. Someone was buying either shares or products from someone else.”
The essence of the charges and the investigation
The information denied by Ihor Kolomoisky became part of the large-scale international project Pandora Papers, implemented in Ukraine by Slidstvo.Info journalists on October 3, 2021.
The journalists found that a network of offshore companies that owns apartments in London was allegedly involved in transactions totaling $40 million. The investigation focused on offshore companies owned by Volodymyr Zelenskyy (before he was elected president) and his inner circle, including Ivan Bakanov (then head of the SBU) and Serhiy Shefir (first aide to the president).
According to the investigation, the funds for these offshore companies allegedly came from entities associated with Ihor Kolomoisky and his bank PrivatBank.
What is Pandora Papers?
The Pandora Papers is the largest offshore document leak revealing the financial secrets of world politicians, public figures and billionaires.
For Ukraine, the key was to identify offshore structures created by Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his partners in Kvartal 95 in 2012, as well as possible links between these companies and financial flows related to PrivatBank.
