Page 8 - UKRRptDec22

A person close to power company DTEK that is owned by Rinat Akhmetov told the FT there have been no signs of government plans to take control of DTEK as well. They are “managed professionally, and have been co-operative and supportive of the war effort,” the person added.
German Galushchenko, Ukraine’s energy minister, said the government was monitoring whether private companies and their management were entirely focused on supporting the country’s military and the economy.
Galushchenko insisted the measures were not nationalisations because state control would be temporary and is designed to support the wartime economy battered by Russia’s military assaults. The owners would either see the assets returned to them or receive compensation, he said.
2.3 Ukraine’s government nationalises some of oligarch Ihor Kolomoisky’s key assets
Ukraine’s government nationalised several key assets that belonged to Ukrainian oligarch and purported Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy backer, Ihor Kolomoisky on November 8.
The Ukrainian securities regulator, the National Commission for Securities and Equity Market (NKTsPFR) has ordered the nationalization of some of the top national companies, using emergency wartime authority as legal grounds, Ekonomicheskaya Pravda reports.
Among the targets for nationalization were oil firms Ukrnafta and Ukrtatnafta, which owns a major Ukrainian petrol refinery, helicopter engine producer Motor Sich, automaker AvtoKrAZ, and electricity equipment producer Zaporozhtransformator.
Kolomoisky’s stakes in Ukrnafta and Ukrtatnafta have apparently been taken over by the state. According to the news outlet Strana, he and his team “were shocked” by the development, which none among them anticipated.
Kolomoisky was previously considered a powerful figure behind President Vladimir Zelenskiy, whose entertainment career started in the tycoon’s media empire.
The assets have been turned over to the Ukrainian Defence Ministry as the operator and cited emergency government powers during wartime as justification for the change of ownership. The National Defence and Security Council stated that the seized assets “may be returned” to their original owners after martial law in the country is lifted, or a compensation may be paid to them.
Zelenskiy has been remarkably quiet on the topic of Kolomoisky, who is also accused of stealing over $5bn from PrivatBank, which he used to own until it was nationalised in 2016. No charges or investigation has been launched against Kolomoisky over the collapse of PrivatBank and he has been allowed to live and operate in Ukraine since his return from exile following Zelenskiy’s election in 2019. However, the US has sanctioned the oligarch since for clear interference in Ukraine’s political process.
Motor Sich, one of the nationalized firms, came into the Ukrainian public spotlight last month after its long-time head and former co-owner Vyacheslav Boguslaev was arrested for allegedly supplying helicopter parts to Russia. An
8 UKRAINE Country Report December 2022 www.intellinews.com