Ukraine freezes hundreds of millions in assets from three Russian oligarchs

Ukrainian court officials have frozen hundreds of millions of dollars in assets from three Russian businessmen over their alleged continued support for Russia’s war in Ukraine.

According to a report from the Ukrainian Security Service, assets owned by the Russian oligarchs Mikhail Fridman, Pyotr Aven, and Andrey Kosgov were frozen on October 6th. 

Photo Credit: Telegram @SBUkr

Fridman, Aven, and Kosgov are thought to be a part of Vladimir Putin’s close inner circle and prosecutors have accused the three men of financing Russia’s ongoing war efforts. 

Courts have accused the three men of being heavily involved in shaping Russian policy and said they helped fund the military-industrial complex and paramilitary organizations. 

Twenty different businesses the three oligarchs own as the ultimate beneficiaries or that they control offshore companies were impacted according to Ukraine's Security Service. 

Pictured: Pyotr Aven / Photo Credit: Wiki Commons: By LetterOne Group - https://www.flickr.com/photos/135212518@N06/21413402875/in/dateposted/, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=91164581

Reuters reported the frozen assets included securities and corporate rights from mobile phone operators, a mineral water company, and several financial and insurance groups. 

The amount of assets frozen totaled over 17 billion hryvnias ($464.48 million) according to a Telegram post from the Prosecutor General’s Office that was translated by Reuters. 

Pictured: Andrey Kosgov / Photo Credit: Wiki Commons: By Photoblag - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=128897154

"The seizure of this property will not allow the Russian owners to ‘re-register’ it to front companies to avoid further transfer of assets to the income of Ukraine," the Security Service explained on Telegram according to Ukrainska Pravda. 

The Security Service also noted that the corporate rights of the companies were seized in order to preserve physical evidence and cautioned that the seizure would not hinder the economic activity of other foreign investors in the affected companies. 

Photo Credit: Wiki Commons: By LetterOne Group - Mikhail Fridman, Petr Aven and Lord Browne at the L1 Energy launch New York - May 2015, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=50395848

Reuters noted that ever since Russia invaded in February 2022, Ukraine has “repeatedly seized and nationalized property belonging to Russian businessmen involved in financing the aggression.”