Kyiv court extends detention of businessman Ihor Kolomoisky, reduces bail

The Kyiv District Court ruled on Tuesday to extend the detention of businessman Ihor Kolomoisky for an additional two months and reduced the bail amount for him from 2.65 billion to 2.4 billion hryvnias.

The court declined both the prosecutor’s plea for a longer extension of the defendant’s imprisonment and the defense’s request to alter Kolomoisky’s detention to house arrest, citing concerns over his health condition.

Kolomoisky was apprehended on September 2 last year on charges related to fraud and the laundering of proceeds obtained unlawfully. Shortly after his arrest, he faced an additional allegation of misappropriation of 9.2 billion hryvnias from Privatbank. On September 15, the Security Service of Ukraine brought forth a third charge accusing him of embezzlement.

In the weeks following the indictment, Kolomoisky transferred the corporate ownership of his media conglomerate, 1+1, to the company’s employees.

Aged 60, Kolomoisky, a former ally of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, stands as one of Ukraine’s wealthiest individuals. His television network was attributed to playing a pivotal role in securing the landslide victory of the politically novice Zelenskyy in the 2019 presidential election, triumphing over the incumbent Petro Poroshenko.