BREAKING Ukraine nationalizes company of one-time Zelensky backer Billionaire Igor Kolomoysky had his assets seized during nationalization of sev

Ukraine nationalizes company of one-time Zelensky backer
Billionaire Igor Kolomoysky had his assets seized during nationalization of several top companies

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, the country’s media reported on Monday. Some of the stakes were previously owned by billionaire Igor Kolomoysky.

The news was broken by the website Ekonomicheskaya Pravda and later confirmed by other outlets as well as by the country’s security council.

Among the targets for nationalization were oil producer Ukrnafta, the firm Ukrtatnafta, which owns a major Ukrainian petrol refinery, helicopter engine producer Motor Sich, automaker AvtoKrAZ, and electricity equipment producer Zaporozhtransformator.

One of the individuals whose interests were sidelined by the decision is controversial billionaire Igor Kolomoysky, whose stakes in Ukrnafta and Ukrtatnafta have apparently been taken over. According to the news outlet Strana, he and his team “were shocked” by the development, which none among them anticipated.

Kolomoysky was previously considered a powerful figure behind President Vladimir Zelensky, whose entertainment career started in the tycoon’s media empire. The businessman controlled the Ukrainian ‘1+1’ media holding. The group owned several TV Channels, including those that broadcast Zelensky’s comedy shows, as well as the hit comedy series “Servant of the People,” starring the current Ukrainian president.

[link to www.rt.com (secure)]