Zelensky approves sanctions against ex-President Poroshenko, oligarchs, businessmen

President Volodymyr Zelensky approved a National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) decision on Feb. 13 to impose indefinite sanctions on several high-profile politicians, oligarchs, and businessmen.

Sanctions were imposed against oligarch Ihor Kolomoisky, billionaire Konstantin Zhevago, former PrivatBank co-owner Hennadiy Boholyubov, Ukraine's 5th President Petro Poroshenko, and Viktor Medvedchuk, a former pro-Russian lawmaker accused of state treason.

The sanctions freeze all assets held by the targeted individuals in Ukraine and block them from conducting financial transactions, among other restrictions. The decree states the measures are indefinite.

Kolomoisky, one of Ukraine's most infamous business tycoons, faces fraud and money laundering allegations, including accusations of withdrawing Hr 15 billion ($360 million) from Ukraine's largest bank, PrivatBank, before its nationalization in 2016.

Boholyubov, a former co-owner of PrivatBank, is under investigation for allegedly fleeing Ukraine with forged documents in June 2024.  

Zhevago, a billionaire and former lawmaker, is suspected of embezzlement related to the collapse of Finance and Credit Bank in 2015.

He was detained in France in December 2022 at Kyiv's request.

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Medvedchuk, a pro-Russian politician and close ally of Vladimir Putin, was charged with treason in 2021. He escaped house arrest days after Russia's full-scale invasion but was later captured and exchanged for Ukrainian prisoners of war in September 2022. He is now in Russia.

Poroshenko, Ukraine's fifth president (2014-2019) and current lawmaker from the European Solidarity party, has faced multiple criminal investigations. While cases against him were suspended after the full-scale invasion, his shares in 19 companies were seized, and affiliated businesses faced multimillion-dollar fines.

"The National Security and Defense Council has just made an unconstitutional, politically motivated decision to impose sanctions against me, Petro Poroshenko, the leader of the opposition and the fifth president (of Ukraine)," Poroshenko said in a statement.

"Today, Zelensky has dealt a huge blow to the internal unity that our team has been strictly adhering to since February 2022 and which is our main weapon in the fight against the aggressor," he said.

Zelensky imposes sanctions against ex-President Poroshenko, former president says

“Everyone who destroyed the national security of Ukraine and helped Russia must be held accountable (for their actions),” President Volodymyr Zelensky said, without specifying who exactly would be penalized and what that would mean.

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