The Minister of Justice of Ukraine Denis Malyuska said that businessman, ex-head of the Dnipropetrovsk Regional State Administration Igor Kolomoisky and the owner of Roshen, former President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko meet the criteria for including them in the register of oligarchs in the event that the Rada adopts the bill on de-oligarchization.
“There are official partners of Mr. Kolomoisky in the Verkhovna Rada, and he is not alone, because Mr. Kolomoisky definitely gets (in the register of oligarchs. -
RT
) ... European Solidarity realizes that their leader (Petro Poroshenko. -
RT
) is also automatically enters the register, and this is also understandable, ”Malyuska said on the air of Ukrainian television.
Minister of Justice of Ukraine Denis Malyuska
Facebook
© Denis Malyuska
As the head of the Ukrainian Ministry of Justice clarified, the bill on oligarchs previously submitted to parliament was written not for an individual figure, but for the entire system that has developed in the country.
“The law was not written for an individual - the law was written for the oligarchic system, and it has consequences.
The consequences are simple, they were voiced by the president.
If you don't want to get on the register, get rid of your political influence.
Please, stay with your assets, do not approach politics, ”Malyuska said.
Substitution of responsibilities
We will remind, earlier on the website of the Verkhovna Rada was published a draft law "On the prevention of threats to national security associated with the excessive influence of persons with significant economic or political weight in public life (oligarchs)" (No. 5599).
The document was submitted to parliament by the country's President Vladimir Zelensky.
The head of state gave the bill an urgent status.
"The bill does not violate the fundamental rights of people who fall under the definition of an oligarch, but only defines the circle of these persons and establishes the rules for their transparent relationship with government officials," the website of the President of Ukraine says.
Vladimir Zelensky
© REUTERS / Gleb Garanich
At the same time, the president's office explained that the law, which will be in effect for ten years, "should be the first step towards the elimination of the oligarchic system in Ukraine."
The bill involves the creation of a special register of oligarchs.
The decision to include a person in it will be made on the basis of four criteria: the “candidate” for the register participates in the political life of the country, has significant influence on the media, is a beneficiary of a monopoly company, or his fortune exceeds 1 million living wages (about $ 84 million ).
To obtain the "status" of an oligarch, it is enough to meet three of the listed criteria.
The definition of "participation in political life" includes election to the Rada, the presidency, obtaining a post in the government, the leadership of the SBU, the Prosecutor General's Office or the National Bank, as well as communication with all the listed officials.
Also, this criterion corresponds to a person who holds a position in the governing bodies of a political party or finances party activities.
The person who “has significant influence on the media” will be considered the beneficiary of the media or the person exercising control over it.
At the same time, it will not work to control the media through intermediaries in order to avoid being included in the register.
The bill stipulates that those media owners who transfer control over publications or TV channels to persons in any way connected with the owners will also fall under the new rules.
The decision to include a person in the register will be made by the National Security and Defense Council of the country on the basis of a submission from the government, the Security Service of Ukraine, the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine or the National Bank.
Subsequently, the persons involved in the register will be prohibited from financially supporting political parties, as well as acquiring objects of "large privatization".
In addition, persons included in the register will be required to file an income tax return.
Also, the bill introduces the concept of "declaration of contacts".
We are talking about contacts of public civil servants with oligarchs or their representatives.
If the document is adopted, officials will have to report to the NSDC on such contacts the very next day after the conversation.
Cleaning up the political field
According to experts, the bill was written for the political objectives of the President of Ukraine and the Servant of the People party headed by him.
“The law will clearly have a selective effect.
Oligarchs will be those who want to get rid of in the office of the president.
Plus, the law will help Western corporations to squeeze and take the place of Ukrainian oligarchs, "political scientist and economist Alexander Dudchak explained in a commentary on RT.
A similar point of view is shared by the president of the Ukrainian Analytical Center, Oleksandr Okhrimenko.
According to the expert, the law will become a tool for political cleansing in the hands of Zelensky.
The Verkhovna Rada
globallookpress.com
© Pavlo Bahmut / Keystone Press Agency
“Those oligarchs who are loyal to the authorities may not be included in the register, because the decision will be made by the NSDC, which is controlled by the president.
And those who try to play on their own will be entered in the register.
In fact, the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine could deal with the excessive influence of big business on the political and public spheres.
But this body often does not act the way Zelensky wants, therefore this bill was prepared, "the analyst explained in an interview with RT.
The head of state intends to achieve the adoption of the bill, and if the Rada resists, Zelensky promises to bring the issue of the status of the oligarchs to a national referendum.
The politician said this, referring to those "who will try to shake, convince, break or agree with the deputies" of the Rada on the bill on de-oligarchization.
“This question will be the first (in the referendum. -
RT
).
And for some, it may be the last, ”Zelensky said after the meeting of the National Security and Defense Council.
Political dictatorship
The Ukrainian opposition has already criticized the presidential bill.
For example, the Opposition Platform - For Life (Opposition Platform) party announced that it would not support the document.
As noted by the co-chairman of the party Yuri Boyko, although the description of the bill sounds noble, the initiative pursues completely different goals.
“If the oligarchs are“ appointed ”not by the court, but by the so-called NSDC, which has long turned into a kind of secret office that determines who is to be registered as oligarchs and who is not, then this is not the law.
This is pressure, blackmail and usurpation, and, unfortunately, this is how the current government behaves, "Boyko stressed.
© zagittya.com.ua
We will remind, earlier, the Ukrainian authorities have already raised the topic of "the fight against oligarchs", organizing the persecution of the leadership of the HLE.
In his column for the Focus publication, commenting on the criminal case against the head of the political council of the OPSZ Viktor Medvedchuk, Volodymyr Zelenskyy called it a “de-oligarchization campaign”.
Medvedchuk was first ranked among the richest people in Ukraine by Forbes Ukraine magazine in May 2021.
The publication estimated the state of the politician at $ 620 million.At the same time, earlier the media called completely different figures: according to the declaration, the assets of Medvedchuk and his family amounted to only € 14.4 million in 2020.
The outrage of the PLO at the actions of Zelensky is also shared by the ideological opponents of the "oppositionists" from Petro Poroshenko's party "European Solidarity".
As stated in the press service of the party, "the bill aims to seize power by assigning Zelensky extra-constitutional dictatorial powers."
If the bill is adopted, the “right” and “wrong” policies will be appointed not by the court, but by the Zelensky-controlled body, we are confident in the “European Solidarity”.
As for the "candidate" for the register of Igor Kolomoisky, even during the election campaign of Vladimir Zelensky, the media connected the future president with the oligarch, who did not hide his close acquaintance with the former showman.
The businessman reacted calmly to the current initiative of Zelensky and said that he was ready to get on the list of oligarchs.
“Morally I'm ready to get into the register of oligarchs.
I would not like, of course, to be a black sheep and be alone in this register, but I, by and large, have become accustomed to being called de facto an oligarch.
So what's the difference? "
- said Kolomoisky in an interview with Radio Liberty *.
According to experts, earlier Kolomoisky really had a great influence on Zelensky, but recently this connection has weakened.
“Before, Zelensky really depended on Kolomoisky.
But then the oligarch spoiled relations with the American elites, and for this reason Zelensky tried to distance himself from him, ”recalled Alexander Dudchak.
Kiev
Reuters
Alexander Okhrimenko adheres to a similar point of view.
According to the expert, earlier Kolomoisky even deliberately exaggerated the degree of his influence on Zelensky, but in reality now the president treats him no better than other potential rivals for power from among the oligarchs.
Analysts agree in assessing the consequences that the adoption of the law on oligarchs will have for Ukraine.
“Zelensky, through such measures, simply introduces a political dictatorship in the country.
The authorities are using populist slogans to clean up the political field in the country.
Everything goes to the fact that in Ukraine there will be one party - "Servant of the People", - says Alexander Dudchak.
At the same time, as Oleksandr Okhrimenko said, the bill contains a number of subjective nuances that will prevent the inclusion of businessmen loyal to the authorities.
“In fact, Zelensky is engaged in monopolizing power.
He is ready to leave the tame opposition, which will criticize him, but will not take real action.
As a result, everything may come to the conclusion that there will be several parties in Ukraine, which will only create the illusion of political pluralism, ”the expert summed up.
* Media recognized as a foreign agent by the decision of the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation dated 05.12.2017.