Real donations or capital rescue? Does Russian tycoon, Anatoliy Loktionov, want, in fact, to help Ukraine, or he is afraid of EU sanction?...

Recently, the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine filed a lawsuit in the Supreme Anticorruption Court to confiscate assets of the Russian oligarch, Oleh Deripaska, in Ukraine. Large, sometimes budget-forming enterprises are fell under the alienation: Mykolayiv Alumina Refinery Plant, Hlukhiv Quartzite Quarry, Khust and Zhezheliv mines, Zaporizhia Production Aluminum Plant, etc.

According to the vice minister of justice, Iryna Mudra, such actions have been taken against the Russian oligarch because his company “Rusal” is a military-industrial company which through its controlled companies produces armored vehicles that are used later by armed forces of Russian Federation in the war against Ukraine.

It should be noted that it was done at the 11-th month of the full-scale war against Ukraine, after USA, EU, Great Britain, Switzerland, Australia and New Zealand introduced sanctions against Deripaska for what he supports “putin’s regime” and his companies are involved in the production of Russian arms. Though slowly, the main thing is to bring it to a logical conclusion, the real confiscation to the State Treasury of Ukraine.

Along with Deripaska, the war in Ukraine is supported by:

• Ex-head of the Board of Directors of the bank “Rossiya” and one of the initiators of the establishment of Russian “National Media Group”, Yuriy Kovalchuk, who, according to TheWallstreetjournal  data, convinced Putin to start the full-scale war against Ukraine;
•  Billionaire-trader, Hennadiy Tymchenko, who received an oil export license from the Russian president to help the Petersburg oil-trader. Tymchenko is a co-founder of Swiss Trade House GunvorGroup exporting Russian oil for billions of dollars;
• Roman Abramovich, closely related to Kremlin, why was he sanctioned by EU, Canada and many others.

However, more and more Russian oligarchs have begun recently to distance themselves from the Russian leader declaring as if they don’t want anything to do with Moscow commander: they will file a claim to the EU Court since consider European sanctions as an unjust vision of their proximity to the dictator.

Few of them are ready, beside declarations, to provide financial and other support to Ukraine in its war with Russian Federation. In particular, the vice president of “Rosneft”, Anatoliy Loktionov, has made donation to combat missiles for Ukrainian armed forces. Factually, the donation was made from the assets of the proper “Rosneft”. In other words, the oligarch has not wasted his own money but simple transferred the amount from Russian State Company account. There is a photo of the gift with inscription “Death to the Russian invaders. Anatoliy Loktionov. London” at the site of Revengefor.

What does this grand gesture mean: the sincere wish of victory to Ukraine or the ordinary effort to escape from EU and US sanctions an attempt to preserve their assets from reparation? The disposability and a single direction of such aid point out the latter. After all, Loktionov could actually support Ukrainians more providing not several missiles but lodging, for example, Ukrainian refugees in his enormous estate in Geneve. At least, at one that is located, according to the edition «Municipal Scanner» in Geneve, 140 Route de La-Capite.

Hundreds of our refugees could be lodged in houses of Russian oligarchs or this real estate could be sold and obtained money given in favor of people which have lost their homes during Russian aggression against Ukraine. The aid will be more massive and significant, instead of throwing such sops. But the publicity following the donation of Loktionov to Armed Forces of Ukraine proves his desire to make PR than really support Ukrainians.

Earlier, the idea of donations in exchange for the lifting of sanctions against Russian oligarchs was suggested by Mykhailo Fridman who proposed to nationalize his main asset in Ukraine, Joint-Stock Bank “Alfa Bank” (now, Sense-Bank). Though it was one huge BUT. The assets needs recapitalization in amount of one billion dollars! Such proposal is more like wish to get rid of the “ill” asset than actually to help. After all, he didn’t propose his other asset owing by Alfa-group through the company VEON, mobile operator Kyivstar. Again, it would be more useful for Ukrainians and our economy than Alfa-bank, which in result of Russian aggression against Ukraine has essentially got closer to the bankruptcy.

It is possible that some of persons less related to Putin wish really to help Ukraine in the war against invader. However, such aid, if it comes, is mainly anonymous, without excess publicity. Obviously, it would be expedient that the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine establish the special help fund for Armed Forces of Ukraine by Russian oligarch daring to support Ukraine. According to the Head of Sluha Narodu faction in Verkhovna Rada, David Arakhamia, the international partners of our country proposed to create the “fund of penance” for Russian oligarchs, that is, the legal procedure of lifting from sanctions by transmitting money for rebuilding of Ukraine.

“Perhaps, they can work with businessmen which have Russian citizenship, but their whole business is located in other countries. In fact, not Russian budget suffers from sanctions but, for instance, British. If such a businessman is ready to donate certain amount for rebuilding of Ukraine, I perceive it with tolerance. But if it deals with businessmen paying taxes in Russia and financing in this way the war in Ukraine, I am against it”, he explained. 

The Ministry of Defense of Ukraine has no prejudice against donations for the Armed Forces of Ukraine. As it is clear from the information claim, they don’t really care who will give the aid to armed forces. According to the statement of the Financial Department of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, the question concerning persons which donate money for the defense is not within their competence.

The People’s Deputy, Adviser of the Head of the Office of President of Ukraine, Oleksandr Kachura considers the “single “donation” which Russian oligarchs can do is to transfer voluntary, without additional expenses for their advocates the property that will be confiscated anyway and transferred to Ukraine as reparations”.

“If Russian oligarchs want to help Ukraine and Armed Forces of Ukraine, they would better finance protest movements to destroy Putin’s regime in the Russian Federation. We will reach the victory even without their bloody money”, he pointed out.  

Ukraine has no right to any relation with so called Russian oligarchs, said the People’s Deputy of Ukraine, Anton Yatsenko. “In my mind, all their property in Ukraine should be confiscated and transferred to the needs of front and renovation of Ukraine. No negotiations with criminals would be, and we should not demonstrate to the civilized world that we are trading the state”, he pointed out.

Anton Yatsenko added that he has a clear position. “There is an invader, and we should liberate all our borders within the frames of 1991, Russia should pay reparations, all property of Russians, not only in Ukraine but also abroad, should be confiscated and directed to the needs of Ukraine. In other words, it deals not only with the property of Russia as a state, but also with the property of all businessmen and Russians who own the property abroad. In general, the world, as for me, should create the iron curtain for Russians. They have no right to get visas, travel to the civilized world, there should be the severe position as much as possible. That is, if a Russian oligarch says I’ll give money to Ukraine, don’t touch only my assets, I consider that it’s politically wrong from the point of view of those who have suffered or died for Ukraine”, he summarized and added that “those, so called voluntary contributions from the Russian oligarchs is only an effort to buy off the confiscation of property”.

Such seemingly good intentions have completely different subtext. Persons that were as close as possible to the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, try by all means to avoid the sanctions and arrest of their property by Ukraine, EU and USA. The final objective of this soap opera “Russian oligarch helps Ukraine” is unique: to save business and escape from sanctions. Fridman, Loktionov and other oligarchs use the help to Ukraine impudently and hypocritically. All these visible donations by Loktionov for a missile are only in his personal interest: not to help Ukraine but to avoid European sanctions.

Yevgen PUSTOVOIT