President of Ukraine Vladimir Zelensky is not going to support the former owners of PrivatBank, who are currently in litigation with the state in a Ukrainian court. The politician said this during negotiations with the vice-president of the European Commission Valdis Dombrovskis.
“As for PrivatBank, I will protect only the state, only citizens. I am not interested in these games of the former owners in the courts. I am not going to be on their side, ”reads Zelensky’s statement on Twitter.
“Ukraine is only an excuse”
Recall that in 2016 the Ukrainian government decided to nationalize the largest Ukrainian bank, founded by oligarch Igor Kolomoisky. At the time of nationalization Kolomoisky owned a 41% stake in PrivatBank. The authorities motivated their decision by the need to save the country's financial system - the collapse of PrivatBank would hit millions of citizens.
Former owners of the structure do not agree with this version and argue that the government specifically created the prerequisites for a financial institution crisis in order to then take the assets from its shareholders.
Shortly before the second round of the presidential campaign, the District Administrative Court of Kiev ruled in favor of the Cypriot company Triantal Investments Ltd controlled by Kolomoisky, declaring the procedure of nationalization of PrivatBank to be illegal. Petro Poroshenko criticized this decision and appealed to the SBU and the Prosecutor General's Office to check the judges for violations of the law.
Kolomoisky himself told reporters that he does not demand the return of his stake in PrivatBank, but insists on a compensation of $ 2 billion. Obviously, even if the litigation is crowned with a businessman’s victory, the state is unlikely to pay him that amount - now Kiev barely copes with government debt service. Therefore, the oligarch, he said, agrees to wait with the payments, or get them in the form of bonds.
“I do not need (such a situation in which. - RT ), when someone is hungry or does not have enough money for the army, at this time I will receive two billion. I'm not hurrying. I need to recognize the fact that I was robbed, and (to determine. - RT ) how much, ”Kolomoisky said in an interview with Bihus.info.
Although experts and the media from the very beginning called Vladimir Zelensky a protege of Igor Kolomoisky, their opinions differ on the issue of “PrivatBank”. Moreover, ex-Minister of Finance Alexander Danilyuk, who personally participated in the nationalization procedure of PrivatBank in 2016, was on the Zelensky team from the very beginning. In the administration of the new president he received the post of secretary of the National Security and Defense Council. According to Danilyuk, the decision to nationalize PrivatBank was “absolutely correct.”
It is worth noting that now Danyluk works in the same team with the former Kolomoisky lawyer Andrei Bogdan, who headed the Zelensky administration. At the same time in an interview with journalists Kolomoisky said that Zelensky apologized to him for taking Bogdan to the civil service. On the question of whether Vladimir Zelensky distanced himself from him after being elected president, Kolomoisky replied positively, adding that he was not offended. According to him, he was ready for such a development of events, and public opinion and the media, who often criticized Zelensky for his links with the oligarch, played a role in this.
- RIA News
- © Natalya Seliverstova
From the very beginning, Kolomoisky did not conceal that Vladimir Zelensky was not for him merely a casual acquaintance. As the oligarch explained in an interview with Radio Liberty *, he has been closely communicating with Zelensky since 2011, when the showman went to work on Kolomoisky's 1 + 1 channel. Business negotiations have become a prologue to human relations, the oligarch explained.
It is not known whether Kolomoisky provided financial support to Zelensky during the election campaign, but he definitely didn’t manage without media help - the 1 + 1 TV channel became a political platform for the candidate from the Servant ’Party Party. As calculated at the National Council for Monitoring Broadcasting Broadcasting Companies, during the election campaign, about 14% of the total airtime of the TV channel was reserved for Vladimir Zelensky in one way or another.
- Show Vladimir Zelensky "Quarter 95".
- © 1plus1.ua
“The projects“ Evening quarter ”,“ Multibarbar ”, television series“ Servant of the people ”,“ Servant of the people - 2 ”,“ Servant of the people - 3 ”, etc., contain materials (sayings, actions) that use sharp political satire and artistic means have signs of a manipulative nature, ”the statement of the National Council said.
However, now the opinions of Zelensky and Kolomoisky differ not only on the issue of the nationalization of PrivatBank. Earlier, the oligarch advised the new authorities of Ukraine to default on foreign debt. According to the businessman, the responsibility for the debts of Ukraine should be assumed by the US and the EU, which became the indirect perpetrators of the situation in which Ukraine found itself - the country cannot service the national debt without resorting to new loans.
“This is your game, your geopolitics (US and EU. - RT ). You do not care about Ukraine. You want to harm Russia, and Ukraine is just an excuse, ”said a businessman in an interview with the Financial Times.
According to Kolomoisky, in the event Zelensky follows the instructions of the West blindly, following Zelensky’s example, his popularity will quickly decline.
But Vladimir Zelensky does not intend to listen to these tips. During a meeting with the vice-president of the European Commission Valdis Dombrovskis, the Ukrainian leader called the statement of Kolomoisky “rumors”.
“As for the default, these are rumors. These are well-thought-out actions that have nothing to do with my official position, ”said Zelensky.
According to political analyst Rostislav Ishchenko, the president should listen to the words of Kolomoisky. The fact is that the deflot in the current situation is inevitable, but the sooner it is announced, the sooner the crisis passes, the expert believes.
“To deflect default is meaningless, and if Zelensky declares it now, then all claims of the population will be addressed to his predecessor, who brought the situation to such a state. But if the default occurs, for example, in half a year, then the blame will already be laid on Zelensky, the responsibility will lie on him, ”Ischenko said in an interview with RT.
"The single center has not yet decided"
Not only the former shareholder of PrivatBank, but also other Ukrainian oligarchs counted on the victory of Vladimir Zelensky in the pre-election race. About this told journalists Kolomoisky himself. According to him, all the oligarchic circles were “sick” at heart for Zelensky, and many did it even publicly.
However, oligarchic clans are not the only financial and political players operating in Ukraine, experts say. There are powerful external forces - first of all, Washington.
It should be noted that the alleged patron of Vladimir Zelensky Kolomoisky has recently noticeably ruined relations with the American partners of Kiev. The investigation against the oligarch allegedly the beginning of the FBI, this with reference to unnamed sources earlier told The Daily Beast. Also, the United States suspects Kolomoisky of preparing for the murder - with such accusations made by American citizens Igor Fruman and Leo Parnas. They were publicly supported by Donald Trump's Rudolf Giuliani’s lawyer, who publicly called on the Ukrainian authorities to arrest Kolomoisky.
“Billionaire, Ukrainian oligarch Igor Kolomoisky, who is under investigation by the FBI. He returned to Ukraine from exile in Israel and the first thing he did was threaten American citizens. This is a real test for the president. Will he be arrested? ”- wrote a lawyer on his Twitter.
Also, the American side did not like the appointment of the former Kolomoisky lawyer Andrei Bogdan as head of the presidential administration. According to the Ukrainian media, the special envoy of the State Department for Ukrainian affairs, Kurt Volker, strongly recommended the new Ukrainian president to refrain from this personnel decision.
Now many in the US are firmly convinced that Zelensky and Kolomoisky are working together, a source in the Popular Front Party explained in an interview with RT.
“The new president of Ukraine has been able to turn both Republicans and Democrats against himself. They do not understand why Zelensky appointed Andrei Bogdan as head of the Presidential Administration, who had previously worked closely with Igor Kolomoisky. The US Embassy in Ukraine recommended Zelensky not to appoint Bogdan, but all requests were ignored, ”the party representative reminded.
However, in reality today Kolomoisky has no levers of influence on the new president of Ukraine, the RT source in the Presidential Administration of Ukraine believes.
“But Zelensky and Kolomoisky have long been familiar, this is the risk for the new head of state,” the source explained.
- Reuters
- © Konstantin Chernichkin
According to Denis Denisov, director of the Research Institute for Peace-Making Initiatives and Conflictology, it will soon become clear whether Zelensky is ready to conduct an independent policy from Igor Kolomoisky.
“Let's see whether the green light will be given to Kolomoisky. This issue will probably be resolved no later than autumn, the key point will be the case of PrivatBank. But today it would be an exaggeration to call Vladimir Zelensky one hundred percent conductor of Igor Kolomoisky’s interests. Zelensky now has many contacts with various structures and oligarchs, ”said Denisov.
According to the source RT in the “Radical Party”, now the head of state is facing a difficult election.
“Zelensky can break a lot of firewood - he is really ready to reform the country, but he has no knowledge, no skills, no political support for this. Dense work with Kolomoisky will bury his reputation and rating in six months, and the conflict will lead to open confrontation, ”the source said.
Now Zelensky is under pressure from several sides at once, various political and financial groups are striving to protect their interests and make the president a tool for achieving personal goals, Rostislav Ischenko is sure. In addition, additional difficulties Zelensky creates the position of the Americans, who oppose Kolomoisky, the expert said. In general, the struggle between oligarchs and other groups of influence in Ukraine, in his opinion, is now in full swing.
“For example, Pinchuk is actively promoting his interests, his man has become the secretary of the National Security and Defense Council, and this is not the only example. Americans are also promoting their interests - for example, Dmitry Razumkov, who headed the Zelensky party, is their project. Akhmetov also tries to protect his interests, although his people do not appear in Zelensky’s entourage. Now everyone is trying to understand who is the center of problem-solving and decision-making, but the single center has not yet decided, ”Ischenko said.
* “Radio Liberty” - the media, recognized by a foreign agent by decision of the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation dated December 5, 2017