Ukraine court arrests assets belonging to Fridman, Aven and Kosogov worth $464 mln
MOSCOW. Oct 6 (Interfax) - A Ukrainian court has arrested corporate rights valued at over 17 billion hryvnia ($464 million at the current exchange rate) in Ukraine, belonging to three businessmen - Mikhail Fridman, Pyotr Aven and Andrei Kosogov, Ukrainian media report citing the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU).
"According to the materials of the Security Service, the court has seized all corporate rights in Ukraine belonging to the sanctioned Russian oligarchs Mikhail Fridman, Pyotr Aven and Andrei Kosogov," the service's telegram channel says.
The Ukrainian intelligence service clarifies that the court decision concerns 20 companies and financial institutions the businessmen own as final beneficiaries or through controlled offshore companies.
"The value of the arrested corporate rights is more than UAH 17 billion. Among the blocked assets are financial and insurance companies, mobile communications and IT enterprises, as well as mineral water factories," the report notes.
"The seizure of this property will make it so the Russian owners cannot "rewrite" it to dummy corporations in order to avoid a further transfer of assets to the income of Ukraine," the SBU adds.
All three executives are under sanctions from Ukraine. The SBU says Fridman was charged under Part 3 of Article 110-2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (financing actions committed with the aim of forcibly changing or overthrowing the constitutional order or seizing state power, changing the boundaries of the territory or state border of Ukraine). In addition, Fridman and Aven are included in the sanctions lists of the US, EU, UK, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.
Luxembourg-based ABH Holdings S.A., controlled by Kosogov, Friedman and Aven was previously the majority shareholder in the Ukrainian Alfa Bank, which is part of the group of systemically important banks in Ukraine. Shortly after the start of the conflict in the country in 2022, Alfa changed its name to Sense Bank, and in July 2023 it was nationalized by the Ukrainian authorities. In July, ABH Holdings was also included in the Ukrainian sanctions list.
ABH Holdings recently announced its readiness to defend its rights to Sense Bank in international arbitration.
Kosogov, Fridman and Aven are also co-owners of the VEON holding, which includes Kyivstar, the largest telecommunications operator in Ukraine.
The official rate as of October 6 is 36.62 UAH/$1