The Ukrainian security service said that Ukrainian oligarch Dmytro Firtash and the top managers of the companies he owns are under suspicion of embezzlement. This comes as authorities have unearthed an alleged theft of millions of dollars from 2016 to 2022.
The Security Service of Ukraine announced on Monday that it has given Firtash and the top managers of his companies “notices of suspicion” of embezzlement. The SBU said that in coordination with Ukraine’s Economic Security Bureau, it found theft of up to $485 million from 2016 to 2022 as part of a large-scale effort that involved Ukraine’s gas transit system.
Firtash was sanctioned by Ukraine in June last year, as the businessman was accused of selling titanium products that Kyiv said ended up being used by Russian military enterprises. Firtash has denied the allegations.
“Effectively we are talking about the embezzlement of money from ordinary Ukrainians who paid their utility bills,” said the SBU in the statement.
Group DF, Firtash’s company, responded to the notices rejecting the suspicions, saying that the suspicions are baseless and are “part of an ongoing campaign of corrupt pressure directed at its business operations.” The firm said that the company and its legal advisers will “vigorously defend the interests of its businesses, personnel, and the shareholder in both Ukrainian and international courts.”
The statement also said that Group DF has already suffered losses linked to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February last year and that it will “continue to support the defense effort against the Russian aggression.”
This comes at a time when Kyiv is seeking to reduce the political influence of some businessmen since the fall of the Soviet Union. The European Union has also made tackling corruption in Ukraine a priority for Kyiv as it also looks to join the bloc.
Meanwhile, the United Kingdom has pledged more weapons for Ukraine when Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy made a surprise visit to London to meet with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. Among the new weapons the UK has pledged to provide Ukraine with include hundreds more defense missiles and “long-range attack drones.”
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