Zelenskyy imposes sanctions against Cypriot companies: they are linked to Fiala
23 June 16:55
on June 22, 2025, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed Decree No. 417/2025, which introduced new sanctions against 13 individuals and 8 legal entities. This is reported by [komersamt ] with reference to the relevant document.
The decree came into force immediately. It is part of comprehensive measures aimed at counteracting economic activities that directly or indirectly support Russian aggression or are carried out in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine.
What is known about the companies against which the President imposed sanctions on June 22, 2025
The list of legal entities includes six companies registered in Cyprus:
- Arricano Real Estate Ltd;
- U.A. Terra Property Management Limited;
- Museo Holdings Limited, Sunloop Co Limited;
- Praxifin Holdings Limited;
- Twible Holdings Limited.
Arricano Real Estate Ltd. and a group of Cypriot companies
In 2010-2011, these companies belonged to the Arricano group, which was engaged in the development of shopping and entertainment centers in Ukraine (Sky Mall, Promenade).
In addition, Arricano has repeatedly faced accusations of trying to continue its business on the Crimean peninsula, which caused a sensitive reaction in Ukraine.
It is worth noting that the sanctions list includes Cypriot companies whose alleged ultimate beneficiary is Tomas Fiala.
Although the decree does not mention the businessman’s name directly, some of these companies have previously appeared in open sources in the context of his business activities in Ukraine, particularly in real estate and finance.
Arricano is controlled by Estonian citizens Rauno Teder and his father Gillar Teder, who are associated with business in the occupied Crimea after 2014. In addition, the Teders are considered business partners of Tomas Fiala, with whom they collaborated on a number of projects (Fiala himself denies any ties to Arricano). However, it is known that in 2023-2024, Fiala tried to leave Arricano (he owned about 12.5%), but faced obstacles.
The Arricano group includes a number of shopping centers. Teder Hillar is a co-owner of the Luxembourg-based O’KEY Group, which owns a chain of stores in Russia, and only at the end of last year he announced his withdrawal from this business.
Fiala is also associated with Dragon-Ukrainian Properties & Development and the DUPD investment fund. In 2010, the businessman invested about $30 million in the company.
As Fiala himself told the DIALOGUE project, Dragon Capital currently has about 600 thousand square meters of various real estate in its portfolio, while at its peak this figure reached 800 thousand square meters. According to him, since 2016, the company has increased its portfolio to 800 thousand square meters, including
- 400 thousand square meters of warehouses;
- 200 thousand square meters of offices;
- 200 thousand square meters of shopping centers.
However, at the beginning of the full-scale war, three warehouses were destroyed. At an average estimate of $500 per square meter, the 115 thousand square meters lost as a result of Russian aggression are estimated at approximately $65 million.
Arricano and the Kyiv community: how the conflict of interest arose and what it is related to
The conflict over the old Lukianivsky tram depot, an object of industrial architecture dating back to the early twentieth century, continues in Kyiv. The Arricano company has announced “restoration with elements of new construction,” but in fact it is about building a shopping center, which could lead to the loss of buildings.
What you need to know about Tomas Fiala
Tomáš Fiala is an influential Czech-Ukrainian financier, founder and CEO of Dragon Capital, active in business associations and anti-corruption projects, with significant investments in media and the Ukrainian economy.
He was born on May 13, 1974 in Brno, Czech Republic.
He studied at the Prague University of Economics, Faculty of International Trade, but left in his third year to work.
1994-1995 – analyst at Bayerische Vereinsbank (Prague), then at Wood & Co.
1995-1998 – Head of Wood & Co.’s Kyiv office; later worked in Warsaw.
in 2000, he founded Dragon Capital in Kyiv and has been its CEO since its inception.
In 2022-2024, he invested more than $100 million in the Ukrainian economy, including an industrial park in Lviv.
Public activity and influence
2010-2015 and 2016-2021 – President of the European Business Association, which unites more than 1,000 companies in Ukraine.
2015 – Co-founder and Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the Center for Economic Strategy.
2016 – 2020 – Member of the Board of Transparency International Ukraine; since 2020 – on the Board of Directors of Kyiv School of Economics.
Media assets
2014 – founded NV magazine (New Time), website and NV radio.
Dragon Capital’s public media outlets include Ukrayinska Pravda, Ministry of Finance, and Finance.ua.
Fiala has a significant net worth: according to Focus magazine in 2015, about $188 million. He was awarded the Order of the Cross of the Land of Mary, IV class (Estonia, 2019).
The President of Ukraine signed a new decree on sanctions: why it matters
The new sanctions imposed by the President of Ukraine are a logical continuation of official Kyiv’s policy of restricting the commercial activities of individuals and entities that
- do business in the temporarily occupied territories;
- pay taxes to the budget of the Russian Federation;
- or publicly justify armed aggression against Ukraine.
Special attention should be paid to the use of Cypriot jurisdiction. For many years, Cyprus has been one of the most popular offshore jurisdictions for Ukrainian businessmen, who used it to register companies and withdraw capital abroad. The sanctions against Cypriot entities demonstrate the desire of the Ukrainian authorities to revise this practice and make it impossible to use offshore companies to circumvent state control.
The restrictions imposed by Volodymyr Zelenskyy also signaled to foreign investors and financial players that Ukraine is stepping up its fight against shadow schemes and non-transparent economic activity.
It is expected that such steps by the Ukrainian authorities will continue, and the list of individuals and companies under sanctions will be expanded in line with new investigations and information on participation in schemes that directly or indirectly harm the national security of Ukraine.
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