Ihor Valeriyovych Kolomoyskyi ( uk, Ігор Валерійович Коломойський, translit=Ihor Valereriyovych Kolomoyskyi; he, איגור קולומויסקי; born 13 February 1963) is a

Ukrainian Ukrainian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Ukraine * Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe * Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine * So ...

-born billionaire, business magnate, and politician. He has been rated as the second or third richest person in Ukraine, and was seen as one of the most influential

oligarchs Oligarch may refer to: Authority * Oligarch, a member of an oligarchy, a power structure where control resides in a small number of people * Oligarch (Kingdom of Hungary), late 13th–14th centuries * Business oligarch, wealthy and influential bu ...

. He co-founded PrivatBank and its informal extension of companies, Privat Group, in 1992, and acquired extensive media holdings. Kolomoyskyi served as Governor of

Dnipropetrovsk Oblast Dnipropetrovsk Oblast ( uk, Дніпропетро́вська о́бласть, translit=Dnipropetrovska oblast), also referred to as Dnipropetrovshchyna ( uk, Дніпропетро́вщина), is an oblast (province) of central-eastern Ukra ...

from 2014 until his dismissal by President

Petro Poroshenko Petro Oleksiyovych Poroshenko ( uk, Петро́ Олексі́йович Пороше́нко, ; born 26 September 1965) is a Ukrainian businessman and politician who served as the fifth president of Ukraine from 2014 to 2019. Poroshenko se ...

in 2016. That year, following charges against him of large-scale fraud, PrivatBank was taken into state ownership. Kolomoyskyi's media power and funding then supported

Volodymyr Zelenskyy Volodymyr Oleksandrovych Zelenskyy, ; russian: Владимир Александрович Зеленский, Vladimir Aleksandrovich Zelenskyy, (born 25 January 1978; also transliterated as Zelensky or Zelenskiy) is a Ukrainian politicia ...

's successful 2019 campaign to unseat Poroshenko. In 2021, the US banned Kolomoyskyi and his family from entering the country, accusing him of corruption and being a threat to the Ukrainian public's faith in democratic institutions. In July 2022, responding to an ongoing US criminal investigation and following an apparent falling out, Zelenskyy controversially stripped Kolomoyskyi of his Ukrainian citzenship.

Early life and education

Kolomoyskyi was born into a Jewish family in Dnipropetrovsk,

Ukrainian SSR The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic ( uk, Украї́нська Радя́нська Соціалісти́чна Респу́бліка, ; russian: Украи́нская Сове́тская Социалисти́ческая Респ ...

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

. Both parents had graduated in engineering. His mother worked at the university and father in a metallurgical plant. Already in his childhood he was considered to be very determined, diligent and serious, was enthusiastic about sports, and liked to play chess. Professionally, he followed the example of his parents. After graduating from the Gymnasium 21 in Dnipro with the Komsomol badge "For outstanding school performance", in 1980 he took up graduate studies in engineering at the Leonid Brezhnev Dnipropetrovsk Metallurgical Institute (now the National Metallurgical Academy of Ukraine), graduating in 1985. As a Komsomol activist, Kolomoyskyi was involved in the so-called "disco movement"—an attempt by the authorities to promote an ideological safe alternative to the growing, underground, rebroadcast and performance of "Anglo-American" rock music including, in the 80s, heavy metal and punk. Kolomoyskyi used his role in organising approved dance venues and concerts to begin his trading career, as did others in his position, several of whom would go on to play prominent roles in post-Soviet national politics, among them

Yulia Tymoshenko Yulia Volodymyrivna Tymoshenko ( uk, Юлія Володимирівна Тимошенко, ; Hrihyan ();Victor Pinchuk, Serhiy Tihipko, and

Oleksandr Turchynov Oleksandr Valentynovych Turchynov ( uk, Олександр Валентинович Турчинов; born 31 March 1964) is a Ukrainian politician, screenwriter, Baptist minister and economist. He is the former Secretary of the National S ...

.The Bloomsbury Handbook of Popular Music and Social Class
ed. Ian Peddie, New York / London: Bloomsbury Academic, 2020, , page 318 + 319

Name

The transliteration of Ihor Kolomoyskyi's name into English has numerous variants including Igor, or Ihor for his first name, and Kolomoyskyi, Kolomoysky, Kolomoisky, Kolomoiskiy, or Kolomoyskiy for his surname. Kolomoyskyi uses the nickname ''Benya'' (russian: Беня), an invocation of the infamous Ukrainian (and Jewish) criminal reprobate ''Benya Krik'', popularly fictionalized in

Isaac Babel Isaac Emmanuilovich Babel (russian: Исаак Эммануилович Бабель, p=ˈbabʲɪlʲ; – 27 January 1940) was a Russian writer, journalist, playwright, and literary translator. He is best known as the author of ''Red Cavalry'' ...

's ''

Odessa Stories ''Odessa Stories'' (russian: Одесские рассказы, Odesskiye rasskazy), also known as ''Tales of Odessa'', is a collection of four short stories by Isaac Babel, set in Odessa in the last days of the Russian empire and the Russian Revo ...

''. Occasionally, Kolomoyskyi is called ''Bonifatsiy'' (the eponymous star of the popular Soviet cartoon " Каникулы Бонифация" (''Bonifacy's holidays'' by

Soyuzmultfilm Soyuzmultfilm ( rus, Союзмультфи́льм, p=səˌjʉsmʊlʲtˈfʲilʲm , ''Union Cartoon'') (also known as SMF Animation Studio in English, Formerly known as Soyuzdetmultfilm) is a Russian animation studio based in Moscow. Launched in ...

(1965)).

Business career

In 1990, with two other graduates from Dnipropetrovsk universities, Gennadiy Bogolyubov and Oleksiy Martynov, Kolomoyskyi created a joint enterprise marketing office equipment bought in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 millio ...

. After the

collapse of the USSR The dissolution of the Soviet Union, also negatively connoted as rus, Разва́л Сове́тского Сою́за, r=Razvál Sovétskogo Soyúza, ''Ruining of the Soviet Union''. was the process of internal disintegration within the Sov ...

, the partners, joined by the son of a major Soviet entrepreneur, Leonid Miloslavsky, began to import foreign goods - from sneakers and sportswear to telephones. To pay for the imports, Kolomoyskyi arranged the export of steel products. Soon they realized the greater profits to be made in internationally trading the locally sourced ores and metal. Among other operations, their Privat group supplied fuel to the mining company Pokrovsky (Ordzhonikidzevsky) GOK, receiving in return manganese ore for export. In March 1992, the four companies of the Privat Group established Privatbank CJSC. Unlike state-owned banks, Privat willingly served private entrepreneurs and in 1995 participated aggressively in the voucher scheme for the privatization of state assets. With the blessing of Prime Minister

Leonid Kuchma Leonid Danylovych Kuchma ( uk, Леоні́д Дани́лович Ку́чма; born 9 August 1938) is a Ukrainian politician who was the second president of Ukraine from 19 July 1994 to 23 January 2005. Kuchma's presidency saw numerous corru ...

(also from Dnipro, and whose successful presidential campaign in 1994 Kolomoyskyi and his partners later funded), PrivatBank was also the only Ukrainian lender to receive permission from the

National Bank of Ukraine National Bank of Ukraine ( uk, Національний банк України) or NBU ( uk, НБУ) is the central bank of Ukraine – a government body responsible for unified state policy in the field of country's monetary circulation, includ ...

to open overseas branches. One branch in Latvia, established in 1992, was later implicated in the

2014 Moldovan bank fraud scandal In 2014, $1 billion disappeared from three Moldovan banks: ''Banca de Economii'', ''Unibank'' and ''Banca Socială''.Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is ge ...

, helped precipitate the nationalization of PrivatBank in 2016. Between 1999 and 2003, Kolomoyskyi gained control of

Ukrnafta Ukrnafta is a Ukrainian oil and natural gas extracting company, the largest producer of oil and gas in the country. Ukrnafta is also an operator of a gas filling station network in Ukraine nationwide. In 2006, the company conducted some 91% of oil ...

, Kalinin Coke and Chemical Plant, Ozerka market in Dnipropetrovsk, Nikopol Ferroalloy Plant, and other companies. Through Privat Group, whose board he chaired from 1997,Three's a crowd for Dynamo and Shakhtar
guardian.co.uk (28 August 2007) Kolomoyskyi controlled, at various points in the early 2000s, three Ukrainian airlines:

Aerosvit Airlines AeroSvit Airlines private stock company ( uk, italic=yes, Приватне акціонерне товариство «Авіакомпанія АероСвіт»), operating as AeroSvit — Ukrainian Airlines / АероСвіт, was a Uk ...

Dniproavia Dniproavia ( uk, Дніпроавіа) was an airline headquartered at Dnipro International Airport in Dnipro, Ukraine, which operated scheduled and chartered passenger flights. History Dniproavia was established in 1933 as ''Dnipropetrovsk Int ...

Donbassaero Donbassaero ( uk, Донбасаеро, Russian: Донбассаэро) was an airline with its head office on the property of Donetsk International Airport in Donetsk, Ukraine. It operated domestic and international scheduled services. Its ma ...

. All went bankrupt. Through the asset management company Mansvell Enterprises Limited, he controlled a further three

Scandinavia Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Swe ...

n airlines,

Skyways Express Skyways Express AB was a Swedish airline that operated regional and domestic scheduled services. With its corporate head office on the property of Stockholm-Arlanda Airport in Sigtuna Municipality, Sweden, its main hub was at Stockholm-Arlanda A ...

City Airline City Airline AB was a regional airline based in the Air Cargo Building on the grounds of Göteborg Landvetter Airport in Landvetter, Härryda Municipality, Sweden. It was privately owned and operated a medium-sized European network from its main ...

, and Cimber Sterling each of which again, within a few years, filed for bankruptcy and ceased operations. As of 2008, other fields of activity in Ukraine as well as in Russia and Romania included: ferroalloys, finance, oil products, and mass media,Ihor Kolomoysky

Kyiv Post The ''Kyiv Post'' is the oldest English-language newspaper in Ukraine, founded in October 1995 by Jed Sunden. History American Jed Sunden founded the ''Kyiv Post'' weekly newspaper on Oct. 18, 1995 and later created KP Media for his holdings. ...

(18 June 2008) Kolomoyskyi's media assets were initially controlled by Glavred media holding, which owns Information Agency UNIAN, the weekly magazine ''Profile'', newspapers ''Novaya Gazeta'' and ''Gazeta po-Kievsky''. In early September 2007,

Ronald Lauder Ronald (Ron) Steven Lauder (born February 26, 1944) is an American businessman, billionaire, philanthropist, art collector, and political activist. He is the president of the World Jewish Congress since 2007. He and his brother, Leonard Lauder, ...

announced that Kolomoyskyi had acquired a 3% stake, and is on the board of directors, of

Central European Media Enterprises Central European Media Enterprises Ltd. (CME) is a media and entertainment company that operates television channels in Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia. Until its acquisition by PPF Group N.V. in October 2020, ...

. In April 2010, through his wholly-owned Harley Trading Limited company, for around $300 million Kolomoyskyi secured control of one of Ukraine's largest media conglomerates,

1+1 Media Group 1+1 Media Group ( doing business as TRK «Studiia 1+1», LLC, uk, ТОВ «ТРК „Студія 1+1“») is one of the largest media conglomerates in Ukraine. The General Director of the Group is Yaroslav Pakholchuk. Structure 1+1 Media Grou ...

which operates eight Ukrainian TV channels. In November 2019, ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' reported that Kolomoyskyi was behind plans to build a controversial ski resort in Svydovets, Ukraine. In the article, a professor at a local university was quoted describing Kolomoyskyi as "a leech who sucks our blood here and puts it in Switzerland."

Wealth

As of 2007, Kolomoyskyi was a billionaire listed by ''

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also r ...

'' as the 799th-richest man in the world with 3.8 billion dollars. In 2010 ''

'' estimated his wealth at $6.243 billion.#2 Richest: Ihor Kolomoisky, 47

(17 December 2010) In March 2012 ''

'' placed him 377th with $3 billion.Eight Ukrainians make Forbes magazine's list of world billionaires

(8 March 2012) In 2010 ''

'' listed Kolomoyskyi as the second richest person in Ukraine; in 2012 ''Forbes'' rated him the third richest person in Ukraine (after

Rinat Akhmetov Rinat Leonidovych Akhmetov, ; russian: Ринат Леонидович Ахметов, ; tt-Cyrl, Ринат Леонид улы Әхмәтов, translit=Rinat Leonid uly Äkhmätov (born on 21 September 1966) is a Ukrainian billionaire and b ...

and/or

Viktor Pinchuk Victor Mykhailovych Pinchuk ( uk, Віктор Михайлович Пінчук, ''Viktor Mykhailovych Pinchuk''; born 14 December 1960) is a Ukrainian businessman and oligarch. As of January 2016, ''Forbes'' ranked him as 1,250th on the list o ...

).Rich Man In A Poor Country

(17 December 2010) In March 2015, after the sharp decline in the value of the

Ukrainian hryvnia The or ( ; uk, гривня , : ''hrn''; sign: ₴; code: UAH) has been the national currency of Ukraine since 2 September 1996. The hryvnia is divided into 100 . It is named after a measure of weight used in medieval Kievan Rus'. Name Et ...

, ''

The Economist ''The Economist'' is a British weekly newspaper printed in demitab format and published digitally. It focuses on current affairs, international business, politics, technology, and culture. Based in London, the newspaper is owned by The Eco ...

'' listed his net worth as $1.36 billion. In 2019, the Ukrainian magazine ''

Focus Focus, or its plural form foci may refer to: Arts * Focus or Focus Festival, former name of the Adelaide Fringe arts festival in South Australia Film *''Focus'', a 1962 TV film starring James Whitmore * ''Focus'' (2001 film), a 2001 film based ...

'' placed Kolomoyskyi third on a list of the 100 most influential Ukrainians.

Allegations of corruption and legal battles

Nationalisation of PrivatBank

Beginning in 2010, rumors circulated that Kolomoyskyi's assets were coming under pressure from the Ukrainian authorities and that he was spending increasingly more time in Switzerland. In September 2013, Kolomoyskyi was criticized by Mr Justice Mann in a court case in London involving an attempted hostile takeover in October 2010 of Alexander Zhukov's JKX Oil and Gas Company,) was

Roman Abramovich Roman Arkadyevich Abramovich (, ; he, רומן ארקדיביץ' אברמוביץ'; born 24 October 1966) is a Russian oligarch and politician. He is the former owner of Chelsea, a Premier League football club in London, England, and is the ...

's girlfriend. The judge noted that Kolomoyskyi had "a reputation of having sought to take control of a company at gunpoint in Ukraine" and that a finance director considered she had "strong grounds for doubting the honesty of Mr Kolomoyskyi". In 2015 Victor Pinchuk brought a $2 billion civil action against Kolomoyskyi and Gennadiy Bogolyubov in the

High Court of Justice The High Court of Justice in London, known properly as His Majesty's High Court of Justice in England, together with the Court of Appeal and the Crown Court, are the Senior Courts of England and Wales. Its name is abbreviated as EWHC (Englan ...

in London over the 2004 purchase of a Ukrainian mining company. Allegations made include murder and bribery. In January 2016 an undisclosed out of court settlement was reached just before the trial was due to start. From as of April 1, 2016, "1+1" media group ceased all TV broadcasts. According to Ruslan Bortnik, director of the Ukrainian Institute of Analysis and Policy Management, unable to find external sponsors and faced with the determination of the Ukrainian government to secure own television presence, the TV project was proving unprofitable for Kolomoyskyi. Other projects, like Kolomoyskyi Football Club Dnipro where the players were not receiving their pay, were also in difficulty. Through Privat Group, Kolomoyskyi also had an interest in

Budivelnyk Kyiv BC Budivelnyk Kyiv (in Ukrainian: Будівельник Київ) is a Ukrainian professional basketball club based in Kyiv. The club plays in the Ukrainian Basketball SuperLeague. In June 2018, it was forced to withdraw from the Superleague due ...

. In 2019, after being relegated FC Dnipro was dissolved. In 2016, Kolomoyskyi and his business partner Gennadiy Bogolyubov were accused of defrauding Ukraine's largest bank PrivatBank of billions of dollars through large unsecured loans to shareholders. Between mid-2015 and mid-2016, the bank had handed out over US$1 billion in loans to firms owned by seven top managers and two subordinates of Kolomoyskyi. The

Bank of Italy The Bank of Italy ( Italian: ''Banca d'Italia'', informally referred to as ''Bankitalia''), (), is the central bank of Italy and part of the European System of Central Banks. It is located in Palazzo Koch, via Nazionale, Rome. The bank's cur ...

meanwhile shut down the Italian branch of Latvian lender AS PrivatBank after finding breaches of money-laundering regulations. Valeria Hontareva, the former chairwoman of Ukraine's central bank, characterised Kolomoyskyi and Boholiubov operation PrivatBank as one of the biggest financial scandals of the 21st century. “Large-scale coordinated fraudulent actions of the bank shareholders and management caused a loss to the state of at least $5.5 billion,” Hontareva said in March 2018. “This is 33 percent of the population’s deposits … nd40 percent of our country’s monetary base". A key mechanism appears to have been the PrivatBank subsidiary in Cyprus which the Ukrainian regulator treated as if it was just another of the bank's domestic branches. In December 2016, declaring that Kolomoyskyi‘s bank was severely under capitalized and a threat to the country's financial system, the Ukrainian government nationalized the lender, then the largest in Ukraine. A $5.6 billion bailout was financed with IMF funds. In 2018, the now nationalized PrivatBank brought a lawsuit against Kolomoyskyi and Bogolyubov in the High Court in London and secured worldwide freeze on their assets. The High Court ruled that it no jurisdiction, but in 2019 the judgement was overturned on appeal, with the UK Supreme Court finding that the $3 billion claim against the former owners of the bank can be heard in a London court. In April 2019, a Ukrainian court ruled that the nationalization of PrivatBank was illegal. Ukraine's central bank said it would not be possible to reverse the nationalisation and that it would appeal the decision. Kolomoyskyi stated that he has no interest in taking back control of the bank but sought $2bn in compensation for losses he insists were incurred during the nationalisation. On February 14, 2017, PrivatBank was liquidated. In July 2022, the Supreme Court of Ukraine reaffirmed the decision of the

to nationalise PrivatBank and ruled the decision valid and legal.

US investigations and blacklisting

In April 2019 it was reported the FBI was investigating Kolomoyskyi over financial crimes involving Gennadiy Bogolyubov, the

Krivyi Rih Kryvyi Rih ( uk, Криви́й Ріг , lit. "Curved Bend" or "Crooked Horn"), also known as Krivoy Rog (Russian: Кривой Рог) is the largest city in central Ukraine, the 7th most populous city in Ukraine and the 2nd largest by area. K ...

businessman Vadim Shulman and Mordechai "Motti" Korf of Florida in relation to Kolomoyskyi steel holdings in

West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the B ...

and northern

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

in the United States and his mining interests in Ghana and Australia. Legal filings from American prosecutors in 2019 detailed how Kolomoyskyi used his control of Ukraine's largest retail bank, PrivatBank, to loot staggering sums from Ukrainian depositors, and via a series of shell companies and offshore accounts whisked the money out of the country and into the U.S. In August 2020, the

United States Department of Justice The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a federal executive department of the United States government tasked with the enforcement of federal law and administration of justice in the United Stat ...

(DOJ) in the Southern District of Florida (Miami) alleged that Kolomoyskyi, Bogolyubov, Mordechai Korf, and Uriel Lader collectively obtained numerous properties as part of a $5.5 billion Ponzi scheme as "an international conspiracy to launder money embezzled and fraudulently obtained from PrivatBank," which was nationalized in 2016 to prevent a collapse of Ukraine's equivalent to the United States' FDIC, and using PrivatBank's "Cyprus branch... as a washing machine for the stolen loan funds." In April 2021 Kolomoyskyi and his wife and children were banned from entering the US, The

United States Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the Federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government responsible for the country's fore ...

accused him of corruptly using his time as Governor of Dnipropetrovsk to personally enrich himself. He was "involved in corrupt acts that undermined rule of law and the Ukrainian public's faith in their government's democratic institutions and public processes, including using his political influence and official power for his personal benefit." In his statement Secretary of State

Antony Blinken Antony John Blinken (born April 16, 1962) is an American government official and diplomat serving as the 71st United States secretary of state since January 26, 2021. He previously served as deputy national security advisor from 2013 to 2015 a ...

said:In January 2022, the DOJ announced that it had filed a civil forfeiture complaint against Kolomoyskyi in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida alleging that "more than $6 million in proceeds from the sale of commercial real estate in Dallas, Texas . . . are subject to forfeiture based on violations of federal money laundering statutes". This was the fourth such action filed by the DOJ in connection with the same alleged criminal activity: the laundering of funds illegally obtained from PrivatBank through multimillion-dollar U.S. property investments.

Activities in the Jewish community

Kolomoyskyi has been a prominent figure in Ukraine's organised Jewish community. In 2008, he was elected the President of “the United Jewish community of Ukraine” in Kyiv. He became a major funder in Ukraine of the

Chabad movement Chabad, also known as Lubavitch, Habad and Chabad-Lubavitch (), is an Orthodox Jewish Hasidic dynasty. Chabad is one of the world's best-known Hasidic movements, particularly for its outreach activities. It is one of the largest Hasidic groups ...

, which has Ukrainian roots. In 2012, with Gennady Bogolubov and Victor Pinchuk, he financed construction of what purports to be the largest multifunctional

Jewish Community Center A Jewish Community Center or a Jewish Community Centre (JCC) is a general recreational, social, and fraternal organization serving the Jewish community in a number of cities. JCCs promote Jewish culture and heritage through holiday celebrations ...

in Europe, the Menorah Centre, in downtown Dnipro. Comprising seven marble towers (of which the highest is 20 stories) arranged in the shape of a menorah, it houses a synagogue, two hotels, kosher restaurant and grocery store and Jewish Memory and

Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; ...

Museum. In 2010 in Berlin, after promising the outgoing president he would donate $14 million,European Jewish Parliament off to a semi-comedic start
– JWeekly, 3 November 2011 Kolomoyskyi was appointed as the president of the European Council of Jewish Communities (ECJC).
– Kyiv Post, 17 December 2010 Some western European ECJC board members described his elevation as a " putsch"A necessary putsch?
– Jerusalem Post, 29 October 2010 and a "Soviet-style takeover". After several resigned in protest, Kolomoyskyi quit the ECJC and, together with fellow Ukrainian oligarch Vadim Rabinovich, founded the European Jewish Union in April 2011. Launched by Kolomoyskyi and Rabinovich at

Disneyland Paris Disneyland Paris is an entertainment resort in Chessy, Seine-et-Marne, Chessy, France, east of Paris. It encompasses two theme parks, resort hotels, Disney Nature Resorts, a shopping, dining and entertainment complex, and a golf course. Disney ...

, the EJU subsequently styled itself the European Jewish Parliament. Modelled on the Israeli

Knesset The Knesset ( he, הַכְּנֶסֶת ; "gathering" or "assembly") is the unicameral legislature of Israel. As the supreme state body, the Knesset is sovereign and thus has complete control of the entirety of the Israeli government (with ...

with 120 members, its declared aim is to represent the concerns of the Jewish community to the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been de ...

. The Brussels-based initiative, with which Kolymoyski no longer appears to be associated, has been opposed by much of the established Jewish community leadership.

Political engagement in Ukraine

Kolomoyskyi opposed the presidential ambitions and government of

Viktor Yanukovych Viktor Fedorovych Yanukovych ( uk, Віктор Федорович Янукович, ; ; born 9 July 1950) is a former politician who served as the fourth president of Ukraine from 2010 until he was removed from office in the Revolution of D ...

and his broadly pro-Russian

Party of Regions The Party of Regions ( uk, Партія регіонів, Partiia rehioniv, ; russian: Партия регионов, Partiya regionov) was a pro-Russian political party in Ukraine formed in late 1997 that then grew to be the biggest party of U ...

. He had been an ally of Yanukovych's predecessor as president,

Victor Yushchenko Viktor Andriyovych Yushchenko ( uk, Віктор Андрійович Ющенко, ; born 23 February 1954) is a Ukrainian politician who was the third president of Ukraine from 23 January 2005 to 25 February 2010. As an informal leader of th ...

(2005-2010) the former central bank governor, helping to finance Yushchenko's

Our Ukraine–People's Self-Defense Bloc The Our Ukraine–People's Self-Defense Bloc ( uk, Блок Наша Україна–Народна Самооборона, ''Blok Nasha Ukrayina-Narodna Samooborona'', NUNS; until 2007 named Our Ukraine Bloc) was an electoral alliance active in ...

. He also supported

Yulia Tymoshenko Yulia Volodymyrivna Tymoshenko ( uk, Юлія Володимирівна Тимошенко, ; Hrihyan ();Bloc Yulia Tymoshenko The Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc ( uk, Блок Юлії Тимошенко, БЮТ; Blok Yuliyi Tymoshenko, BYuT) was the name of the bloc of political parties in Ukraine led by Yulia Tymoshenko since 2001. In November 2011, the participation of bloc ...

, although he refused to finance Tymoshenko's 2010 presidential campaign. In the

2012 Ukrainian parliamentary election The Ukrainian parliamentary election of 2012 took place on 28 October 2012.Vitali Klitschko Vitali Volodymyrovych Klitschko (; uk, Віта́лій Володи́мирович Кличко́ ; born 19 July 1971) is a Ukrainian politician and former professional boxer who serves as mayor of Kyiv After the parliamentary elections in Ukraine: a tough victory for the Party of Regions

Centre for Eastern Studies The Centre for Eastern Studies ( pl, Ośrodek Studiów Wschodnich, OSW) is a Warsaw-based think tank that undertakes independent research on the political, economic and social situation in Central and Eastern Europe, Balkans, Caucasus and Centra ...

(7 November 2012) although the party denied he was a sponsor.

Governor of Dnipropetrovsk

Confrontation with Putin

After the events of Euromaidan forced the resignation of Yanukovych in February 2014, acting President

appointed Kolomoyskyi Governor of

. Kolomoyskyi responded to the then-beginning

2014 pro-Russian unrest in Ukraine From the end of February 2014, demonstrations by pro-Russian and anti-government groups took place in major cities across the eastern and southern regions of Ukraine in the aftermath of the Revolution of Dignity, which resulted in the succes ...

by saying, "I don't understand how Ukrainians and Russians can fight," before blaming Yanukovych and President of Russia Vladimir Putin for the unrest, referring to the latter as a "schizophrenic of short stature," and accused him of having a "messianic drive" to recreate the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

or the

, which he said would plunge the world into catastrophe. Two days later,

Russian President The president of the Russian Federation ( rus, Президент Российской Федерации, Prezident Rossiyskoy Federatsii) is the head of state of the Russian Federation. The president leads the executive branch of the federal ...

Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who holds the office of president of Russia. Putin has served continuously as president or prime minister since 1999: as prime min ...

, who was to respond to Yanukovych's ouster by annexing Crimea and Sevastopol and initiating a separatist war in the Donbas, described Kolomoyskyi as a "unique crook”. According to Putin, Kolomoyskyi "even managed to cheat our

two or three years ago. Scammed him, as our intellectuals like to say. They signed some deal, Abramovich transferred several billion dollars, while this guy never delivered and pocketed the money. When I asked him bramovich 'Why did you do it?' he said: 'I never thought this was possible'". Kolomoyskyi initially dismissed suggestions of separatism in Dnipropetrovsk. However, his then-deputy,

Borys Filatov Borys Albertovych Filatov ( uk, Борис Альбертович Філатов; born 7 March 1972, in Dnipropetrovsk) is a Ukrainian politician, journalist, lawyer, businessman, and the current Mayor of Dnipro. In 2014 and 2015 he was a mem ...

argues that Kolomoyskyi, as governor, proceeded to do "a great deal to prevent the so-called Russian Spring taking over" in the region. In April, Kolomoyskyi offered a bounty for the capture of Russian-backed militants and incentives for the turning in of weapons. On 3 June 2014, Kolomoiskyi offered a $500,000 reward for the delivery of

Oleg Tsaryov Oleg Anatolyevich Tsaryov (russian: Олег Анатольевич Царёв; uk, Олег Анатолійович Царьов, Oleh Anatioliyovych Tsarov; born 2 June 1970) is a Ukrainian businessman, politician and former separatist offici ...

, a leader of the separatists, to the law enforcement agencies of Ukraine. He drafted thousands of Privat Group employees as auxiliary police officers. Kolomoyskyi is also believed to have spent $10 million to create the

Dnipro Battalion , image = Eмблема полку спеціального призначення «Дніпро-1».png , image_size = 200 , caption = Dnipro-1 Regiment shoulder sleeve insignia , dates = 2014–present ...

,The Town Determined to Stop Putin

The Daily Beast ''The Daily Beast'' is an American news website focused on politics, media, and pop culture. It was founded in 2008. It has been characterized as a "high-end tabloid" by Noah Shachtman, the site's editor-in-chief from 2018 to 2021. In a 20 ...

(12 June 2014)Ukraine's Secret Weapon: Feisty Oligarch Ihor Kolomoisky

The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...

(27 June 2014) and to have provided funds for the Aidar,

Azov Azov (russian: Азов), previously known as Azak, is a town in Rostov Oblast, Russia, situated on the Don River just from the Sea of Azov, which derives its name from the town. Population: History Early settlements in the vicinity The mout ...

, and Donbas volunteer battalions. Filatov concedes that these extraordinary measures were in Kolomoyskyi’s interest, since the Russians would have seized his assets. Following their 2014 annexation of Crimea, the Russian authorities nationalised Kolomoyskyi's Crimean properties, including a civil airport. According to the pro-Russian Crimean leader

Sergey Aksyonov Sergey Valeryevich Aksyonov (russian: Сергей Валерьевич Аксёнов, uk, Сергій Валерійович Аксьонов, ro, Serghei Valerievici Aksionov; born 26 November 1972) is a Russian politician serving, since ...

the move was "totally justified due to the fact that he olomoyskyiis one of the initiators and financiers of the special anti-terrorist operation in the

Eastern Ukraine Eastern Ukraine or east Ukraine ( uk, Східна Україна, Skhidna Ukrayina; russian: Восточная Украина, Vostochnaya Ukraina) is primarily the territory of Ukraine east of the Dnipro (or Dnieper) river, particularly Khar ...

where

Russian citizens Russian citizenship law details the conditions by which a person holds citizenship of Russia. The primary law governing citizenship requirements is the federal law "On Citizenship of the Russian Federation", which came into force on 1 July 2002. ...

are being killed". In response, in January 2016 Kolomoyskyi filed a complaint against Russia at the

Permanent Court of Arbitration The Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) is a non-UN intergovernmental organization located in The Hague, Netherlands. Unlike a judicial court in the traditional sense, the PCA provides services of arbitral tribunal to resolve disputes that aris ...

. The Russians maintained that the intergovernmental court has no jurisdiction over the matter and refused to participate in proceedings. They responded with their own charges against Kolomoyskyi, accusing him, in his support for Ukrainian resistance to Russian-backed separatists in the Dontesk and

Luhansk Luhansk (, ; uk, Луганськ, ), also known as Lugansk (, ; russian: Луганск, ), is a city in what is internationally recognised as Ukraine, although it is administered by Russia as capital of the Luhansk People's Republic (LPR). A ...

, of "organizing the killing of civilians". Russia asked for Kolomoyskyi to be put on

Interpol The International Criminal Police Organization (ICPO; french: link=no, Organisation internationale de police criminelle), commonly known as Interpol ( , ), is an international organization that facilitates worldwide police cooperation and cri ...

's wanted list. On 2 July 2014, a Russian District Court called for his arrest. As governor, Kolomoyskyi went to some lengths to maintain a reputation for ruthlessness: visitors to his office were unsettled by an enormous shark tank. Once he became mayor of Dnipro in November 2015, and after his boss's ouster as governor, Filatov found Kolomoyksyi's "oligarch mentality" unchanged: "he started calling to ask me favours".

Conflict with President Poroshenko

On 25 March 2015, Ukrainian President

signed a decree dismissing Kolomoyskyi from the post of Dnipropetrovsk RSA Head, saying "Dnipropetrovsk region must remain a bastion of Ukraine in the East and protect peace". Kolomoyskyi was replaced by

Valentyn Reznichenko Valentyn Mykhaylovych Reznichenko ( uk, Валентин Михайлович Резніченко; born on 22 April 1972), is a Ukrainian government official who is since 11 December 2020 Governor of Dnipropetrovsk Oblast. This followed a struggle with Poroshenko for control the state-owned oil pipeline operator. After Poroshenko's dismissal of Oleksandr Lazorko, who was a protégé of Kolomoyskyi, as a chief executive of UkrTransNafta, Kolomoyskyi dispatched his private security guards to seize control of the company's headquarters and expel the new government-appointed management. While Lazorko was in charge the state-owned pipelines had been delivering oil to an Kolomoyskyi-owned refinery in preference to competitors. In a further move against Kolomoyskyi, Poroshenko replaced Kolomoisky's long-time business partner Ihor Palytsa as governor of neighboring Odesa Oblast with the former Georgian president,

Mikheil Saakashvili Mikheil Saakashvili ( ka, მიხეილ სააკაშვილი ; uk, Міхеіл Саакашвілі ; born 21 December 1967) is a Georgian and Ukrainian politician and jurist.

. That appointment triggered a dramatic and public war of words between Kolomoyskyi and Saakashvili. Saakashvili told journalists Kolomoyskyi was a “gangster” and “smuggler.” Kolomoyskyi told them Saakashvili was “a dog without a muzzle” and “a snotty-nosed addict.” Kolomoyskyi responded that the only difference between Poroshenko and Yanukovych is “a good education, good English and lack of a criminal record.” Everything else is the same: “It’s the same blood, the same flesh reincarnated. If Yanukovych was a lumpen dictator, Poroshenko is the educated usurper, slave to his absolute power, craven to absolute power.”

Dnipro Guard

The Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 again highlighted the presence in Dnipro of the volunteer "Dnipro Guard" (Варти Дніпра, Varty Dnipra), first formed in 2014 with Kolomoyskyi support in response to the

war in Donbas War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

. Mayor of Dnipro,

has dismissed suggestions that the group is Kolomoyskyi's "private army". The Ukrainian billionaire, according to Filatov, helped with some equipment purchases, but the volunteer guard performs defence and law and order functions under the leadership of the national police.

Relationship with Volodymyr Zelenskyy

As of 2019, Kolomoyskyi owned 70% of the

whose TV channel 1+1 aired ''Servant of the People'', a comedy series in which

plays a school teacher who, defying all expectations (including his own), becomes president of Ukraine on an anti-corruption platform. In March 2018, members of Zelenskyy's production company

Kvartal 95 Kvartal 95 Studio ( Ukrainian: Сту́дія «Кварта́л-95»; Russian: Сту́дия «Кварта́л-95») is a publicly held television entertainment production company operating in Ukraine since 2003. The company was founded by ...

registered a new political party called "

Servant of the People Servant of the People (SN; uk, Слуга народу, Sluha narodu, ) is a liberal, centrist, pro-European political party in Ukraine. It was formed in late 2017 and was officially registered on 31 March 2018 on the basis of the previousl ...

." Twelve months later, they succeeded in getting their candidate past

Yulia Tymoshenko Yulia Volodymyrivna Tymoshenko ( uk, Юлія Володимирівна Тимошенко, ; Hrihyan ();Geneva , neighboring_municipalities= Carouge, Chêne-Bougeries, Cologny, Lancy, Grand-Saconnex, Pregny-Chambésy, Vernier, Veyrier , website = https://www.geneve.ch/ Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevr ...

and

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the ...

to confer with the then-exiled Kolomoyskyi on multiple occasions; and benefited from the endorsement of Kolomoyskyi's media empire. Once in office, Zelenskyy appeared to remove officials deemed a threat to Kolomoyskyi's interests, among them the Prosecutor General, Ruslan Ryaboshapka and the Governor of the

(NBU),

Yakiv Smolii Yakiv Vasilyovich Smolii ( uk, Яків Васильович Смолій, born 1 February 1961) is a Ukrainian economist and banker and former Chairman of the National Bank of Ukraine. He was acting Governor of the National Bank from 11 May 2017 ( ...

, and Zelenskyy's first prime minister,

Oleksiy Honcharuk Oleksiy Valeriyovych Honcharuk ( uk, Олексі́й Вале́рійович Гончару́к, ; born 7 July 1984) is a Ukrainian politician. He served as the Prime Minister of Ukraine from 29 August 2019 to 4 March 2020 following a landsl ...

, who tried to loosen Kolomoyskyi's control of a state-owned electricity company. Following the opening of U.S. criminal investigations of Kolomoyskyi and his associates, the oligarch appeared to lose influence with Zelenskyy. In 2020, Zelenskyy sponsored a law that banned former owners from recovering nationalized assets. On 1 February 2021, Oleksandr Dubinsky, a former 1+1 journalist who had actively opposed this so-called "anti-Kolomoyskyi law", was expelled from Zelenskyy's

parliamentary faction.MP Dubinsky expelled from Servant of the People faction

Ukrinform The National News Agency of Ukraine ( uk, Українське національне інформаційне агентство), or Ukrinform ( uk, Укрінформ), is a state information and news agency, and international broadcaster of ...

(2 February 202
Ruling faction in Ukraine's Parliament expels MP Dubinsky

UNIAN The UNIAN or Ukrainian Independent Information Agency of News ( uk, Українське Незалежне Інформаційне Агентство Новин, УНІАН, translit=Ukrayins'ke Nezalezhne Informatsiyne Ahentstvo Novyn) is a ...

(1 February 2021)
Dubinsky was expelled from the "Servant of the People" faction

Ukrayinska Pravda ''Ukrainska Pravda'' ( uk, Українська правда, lit=Ukrainian Truth) is a Ukrainian online newspaper founded by Georgiy Gongadze on 16 April 2000 (the day of the Ukrainian constitutional referendum). Published mainly in Ukrai ...

(1 February 2021) Claiming he was part of a "Russia-linked foreign influence network" associated with fellow People's Deputy Andrii Derkach, the

U.S. Department of the Treasury The Department of the Treasury (USDT) is the national treasury and finance department of the federal government of the United States, where it serves as an executive department. The department oversees the Bureau of Engraving and Printing and t ...

's Office of Foreign Assets Control had placed Dubinsky on its sanction list .Prosecutor General's Office opens proceedings against MP Dubinsky

(19 January 2021) As had Rabinovich as co-founder of the Opposition Platform, Kolomoyskyi had begun to call for a new partnership between Ukraine and Russia. When that happened, he proposed that

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

would be "soiling its pants and buying

Pampers Pampers is a brand of baby and toddler products marketed by Procter & Gamble. History In 1961, P&G researcher Victor Mills disliked changing the cloth diapers of his newborn grandchild. He assigned fellow researchers in P&G's Exploratory Divi ...

." Meanwhile, striking "a more assertive tone", Zelenskyy was pushing for membership of the

and the

alliance". In response to the announced of US sanctions against Kolomoyskyi in April 2021, the Office of Ukrainian President released a statement declaring “Ukraine must overcome a system dominated by oligarchs” and acknowledging that “Ukraine is grateful to each partner for its support along the way”. In October 2021, the

Pandora Papers The Pandora Papers are 11.9 million leaked documents with 2.9 terabytes of data that the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) published beginning on 3 October 2021. The leak exposed the secret offshore accounts of 3 ...

revealed that Zelenskyy and two of his

associates operated a network of offshore companies in the

British Virgin Islands ) , anthem = "God Save the King" , song_type = Territorial song , song = " Oh, Beautiful Virgin Islands" , image_map = File:British Virgin Islands on the globe (Americas centered).svg , map_caption = , mapsize = 290px , image_map2 = Bri ...

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is ge ...

, and

Belize Belize (; bzj, Bileez) is a Caribbean and Central American country on the northeastern coast of Central America. It is bordered by Mexico to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and Guatemala to the west and south. It also shares a wate ...

dating back to 2012.Pandora Papers Reveal Offshore Holdings of Ukrainian President and his Inner Circle
,

Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project The Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) is a global network of investigative journalists with staff on six continents. It was founded in 2006 and specializes in organized crime and corruption. It publishes its stories through ...

(3 October 2021) Zelenskyy’s office sought to justify the network as having been a means of protecting him against the aggressive abuse of tax inspection powers by President Viktor Yanukovych. Potentially more damaging than the appearance of tax evasion was the charge by a political ally of Poroshenko, the journalist Volodymyr Ariev, that the network had laundered some $41 million in funds from Kolomoyskyi’s Privatbank. While investigative journalists suspected that channels of communication with the president remained open, Kolomoyskyi insisted that he no longer communicated with Zelenskyy. He explained that his former protégé "has chosen his path". As president Zelenskyy "has his own vision, program, plans" and as he, a businessman, no longer wants anything from the state, they have nothing to talk about. Kolomoyskyi had the reputation for being able to dictate the votes of deputies within Zelenskyy's parliamentary faction by phone but press reports before the Russian invasion suggested he had "disappeared", staying deliberately away from politics. Despite this, in January 2022, Zelenskyy's Justice Minister Denis Malyuska proposed that Kolomoyskyi's was an "obvious" name to be entered on the register of the new anti-oligarchic law that was to come into effect in May 2022. In the wake of the Russian invasion, Zelenskyy was seen to be under increased pressure to counter Ukraine's reputation as a kleptocracy and respond to the ongoing investigation of Kolomoyskyi in the United States. In both

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

and European capitals, proponents of large-scale assistance to Ukraine contended with

Transparency International Transparency International e.V. (TI) is a German registered association founded in 1993 by former employees of the World Bank. Based in Berlin, its nonprofit and non-governmental purpose is to take action to combat global corruption with civil ...

's European ranking of Ukraine as second only to Russia in institutional corruption. Due to accountancy concerns, approved funds were not being released.

Revocation of Ukrainian citizenship and subsequent activities

On 28 July 2022, Zelenskyy appeared to confirm the authenticity of an 18 July presidential decree published online by the opposition MP

Serhiy Vlasenko Serhiy Vlasenko ( uk, Сергій Володимирович Власенко; born on 7 March 1967 in LvivBiog ...

that strips Ukrainian citizenship from Kolomoyskyi and nine others, including both

Hennadiy Korban Hennadiy Olehovych Korban ( uk, Геннадій Олегович Корбан; born May 24, 1970) is a Ukrainian businessman and politician. A patron of the Jewish community in Dnipro, he served as the head of the UKROP party from July 12, 201 ...

, who had been deputy governor of Dnipropetrovsk under Kolomoyskyi (and since 24 February 2022, head of the Dnipro Territorial Defence), and Vadim Rabinovich. Although dual citizenship is prohibited in Ukrainian law, all three held Israeli passports. Kolomoyskyi who additionally holds a Cypriot passport, has reportedly quipped that while Ukrainian law prohibits dual citizenship, it says nothing about triple citizenship. Kolomoyskyi potentially had safe haven in Ukraine. Article 25 of the country's constitution states that “a citizen of Ukraine cannot be expelled from Ukraine or extradited to another state.” But there may be grounds for appeal, as it also rules that "a citizen of Ukraine cannot be deprived of citizenship". "There is no speculation", Zelenskyy said. "We grant or revoke citizenship of our state on a regular basis. This is a constant process. And all this happens all the time within the framework of the current legislation." Justice Minister

Denys Maliuska Denys Leontiyovych Maliuska ( uk, Денис Леонтійович Малюська; born 19 November 1981) is a Ukrainian lawyer, businessman and politician. Since 29 August 2019 he is Ministry of Justice (Ukraine), Minister of Justice of Ukr ...

refuted the suggestion that by this measure Zelenskyy shields Kolomoyskyi from the proscriptions of the anti-oligarch law. He noted that for the purposes of the law foreigners can also be designated as oligarchs. A source in Zelenskyy’s team has reportedly claimed that Kolomoyskyi had been "holed up" in the Menorah Centre he helped finance in Dnipro, hiding from Russian shelling, and that he has retired not only from business, but also from "socio-political life". At the end of June 2022, the barrister representing Kolomoyskyi in the London High Court, Mark Howard QC, said his client was a “target” of the Russian president. “We know that President Putin has him within his sights,” he told the court. The barrister for his co-defendant in the Privatbank fraud case made the same claim for Gennadiy Bogolyubov, who he also described as hiding from bombs in Ukraine. Clare Montgomery QC suggested to the court that the war has “rendered oligarchy a worthless concept in the Ukraine”. Acknowledging the difficulties faced by the two billionaires in preparing their cases, the judge, Mr Justice Trower, agreed to delay the trial until June 2023.

Personal life

Kolomoyskyi holds Israeli and

Cypriot Cypriot (in older sources often "Cypriote") refers to someone or something of, from, or related to the country of Cyprus. * Cypriot people, or of Cypriot descent; this includes: **Armenian Cypriots **Greek Cypriots **Maronite Cypriots **Turkish C ...

citizenship. He is married to Dnipro native Irina Mikhailovna Kolomoyska. They have a daughter, Angelika Kolomoyska, and a son, Israel Zvi Kolomoyskyi.

Awards

* 2006 – Knight of the Order "For Merits" III degree (19 August) * 2015 – "For sacrifice and love for Ukraine", from the UOC-KP and Patriarch Filaret

Notes

References

External links

*
Kolomoisky's dossier
o
The Page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kolomoyskyi, Ihor 1963 births Living people Businesspeople from Dnipro Governors of Dnipropetrovsk Oblast Businesspeople in metals Businesspeople in the oil industry Recipients of the Order of Merit (Ukraine), 3rd class Jewish philanthropists National Metallurgical Academy of Ukraine alumni Naturalized citizens of Israel Naturalized citizens of Cyprus People who lost Ukrainian citizenship Privat Group Soviet Jews Ukrainian billionaires Ukrainian mass media owners Ukrainian philanthropists Ukrainian football chairmen and investors FC Dnipro Pro-Ukrainian people of the 2014 pro-Russian unrest in Ukraine Cypriot billionaires Ukrainian oligarchs Jewish Ukrainian politicians Ukrainian emigrants to Cyprus Cypriot philanthropists 20th-century Ukrainian businesspeople 21st-century Ukrainian businesspeople Ukrainian bankers Politicians from Dnipro 21st-century Ukrainian politicians Israeli billionaires UKROP politicians Israeli people of Ukrainian-Jewish descent Pro-Ukrainian people of the war in Donbas