Oligarch to remain in custody despite MPs, journalists offering to stand surety
The Kyiv Court of Appeal refused to release Ihor Kolomoisky from custody, leaving in force the elected preventive measure in the form of an arrest with a bail of UAH 3.89 billion ($105.4 million), the oligarch's lawyers told journalists after the court session on Monday.
"The decision is unexpected for us, we are not satisfied with it," said one of the defenders, Oleksandr Lysak.
The court rejected the request to take the businessman on bail. Such a wish was expressed by a dozen or so people during the meeting, among whom were the chief rabbi of Dnipro Shmuel Kaminetsky, former acting Chairman of the Board of Naftogaz of Ukraine Ihor Didenko, MPs Serhiy Demchenko and Artem Kovalyov, former Minister of Culture Oleksandr Tkachenko, top managers and journalists of 1+1 media group (Yaroslav Pakholchuk, Alla Mazur, Nataliya Moseychuk, Ihor Tsyhanyk, Yuriy Horbunov), Irma Krat.
All of them said that they knew Kolomoisky well and were sure that he was not going to run away or evade justice.
For example, 1+1 presenter Nataliya Moseychuk, speaking before the judges, assured that "Kolomoisky will not cover himself with a checkered blanket (alluding to actions of civil servant Roman Nasirov -ed), will not imitate an illness, will not bring crowds to court."
Didenko said that "Ihor Valeriyovych never deceived anyone."
"He was and is the guarantor of independent journalism. We are often accused of something, but Ihor Valeriyovych never exerted influence and pressure. Moreover, Ihor Valeriyovych is a great patriot, a strong warrior and a brave person. He does many good things, but he is a modest and says: there's no need to talk about it, the Almighty sees everything. It's a shame when all these good deeds are in the shadows," said the CEO of the 1+1 media group Yaroslav Pakholchuk during his speech in court.
During the court session, Kolomoisky's defense mentioned the poor state of the businessman's health and the difficult conditions of his stay in the detention center. In addition, they tried to prove violations when charges were served and the increase of the bail amount by the Shevchenkivskyi court.
On September 2, 2023, Kolomoisky was charged with fraud and money laundering. He was arrested for two months with a bail of UAH 509 million ($13.8 million). He did not post bail, and after he was charged on two more counts in the remand prison, the court increased the amount of the bail to UAH 3.89 billion ($105.4 million).
