Criminal Planet (2021) s01e03 Episode Script
The World's Biggest Bank Robbery?
-International organized
crime has no natural predator.
-[ Speaks foreign language ]
-Crime syndicates are expanding
and forging alliances
across the globe.
-[ Speaks foreign language ]
-As law enforcement
struggle to stop them up
to 5% of the global economy
is now in criminal hands.
I'm Paul Radu and
for the past 20 years
I have investigated
international organized crime
in the tune of 400,000,000,000.
And this is a very, very small
slice of what's really going on.
-I think there's some people.
-Let's go, let's go.
-In this series, I'm working
with a team of reporters
around the world --
-Are you angry with
yourself for being part of this?
-[ Speaking foreign language ]
-to discover how a
generation of international gangs
are redrawing the criminal map.
-Billions of dollars of
criminal cash are washed
through international
cities every year.
But now there's a new
breed of money launderers
called kleptocrats.
They are political elites
who steal public funds
and loot state assets.
The billions they
launder across the globe
can bring countries
to the brink of collapse.
In what could be
one of the world's
biggest bank
robberies, two oligarchs,
Igor Kolomoisky and
Henadiy Boholyubov
stand accused of
laundering $5,500,000,000
from Ukraine's biggest bank,
PrivatBank, which they founded.
Valeria Gontareva
was one of the people
who uncovered the
alleged fraud at PrivatBank
which had over
20,000,000 customers.
-It's my house on fire.
-Wow.
God, that's a huge fire.
-Yeah.
It was absolutely devastated.
It was just awful
for all my family.
All my photos,
all my mother's and
father's photos, everything.
They burned my life.
My contract with Central
Bank was for seven years,
but I left Central
Bank after three years
because of death threats.
And you can see even
photos of these death threats.
It was a coffin
with my mannequin.
Absolutely sure that right now
it's revenge of one
particular oligarch,
Kolomoisky.
Deputy Head of
Presidential Administration
called me and he introduced me
Kolomoisky and Kolomoisky
said, "And, Valeria, I observe
that you were without
any security guards.
There's news that to
kill person in Ukraine
costs just 1,000 bucks."
-Kolomoisky is one of Ukraine's
richest and most powerful men.
The former political
governor of Ukraine's
main industrial region,
he owns airlines, factories,
oil companies, and TV stations.
The crown jewel in his
empire was PrivatBank
which he co-owned
with Henadiy Boholyubov.
What was your
involvement with PrivatBank?
-When I was
nominated the Governor
of the Central Bank in 2014
we immediately started
to do stress test analysis
of Ukrainian banking system.
The result of this, the
stress test of PrivatBank
was $5,500,000,000
capital hole in PrivatBank.
And I still believe that it's
the biggest financial fraud
in the world.
-$5,500,000,000 disappeared.
It's alleged that Kolomoisky
and his associates
siphoned it off into
accounts they controlled.
It was oligarch universe.
It was the oligarch, we
call it oligarch banking.
-Where did all
these billions go?
-It's US, in Israel, in
Switzerland, in Cyprus.
Biggest problem
about the PrivatBank,
it was too big to fail.
With 20,000,000 customers
when you have 600,000 of small
and medium size companies there,
when you have more than
3,000,000 pensioners there.
You know, you
could not interrupt
and stop this business
even for a few days.
[ Speaking foreign language ]
-Almost half of
Ukraine's population
had savings in PrivatBank.
To stop them losing their
money the state bailed it out
with over $5,000,000,000
of taxpayers' money
and took over the bank.
Kolomoisky told us
regarding the so-called
laundering of $5,500,000,000,
he and his associates
categorically deny
that funds were
siphoned out of the bank
or that the bank
suffered any loss at all.
He said it was a
successful business
capable of making profit.
He claims the real
reason for nationalization
was not to protect customers,
but was a pre-arranged goal
and they wanted to
persecute shareholders.
Valeria made many
powerful enemies
after closing down dozens
of failing Ukrainian banks,
but claims putting
PrivatBank under state control
left her a marked woman.
-Even when I joined LSC
and start to work in London
they continue all these
campaign against me.
Kolomoisky's threats
became absolutely incredible.
First of all it was
a car accident.
Police could not find anything
suspicious in this car accident.
And he even promised
to kidnap me from London.
-Kolomoisky denies he has
ever made any threats to Valeria
and says she does
not give any evidence
at all of my supposed
involvement in her misfortunes,
be it a burnt car or a house.
Kolomoisky told
us whilst I admit
that some of my
statements about Valeria
might be considered
somewhat harsh,
she, following orders,
cynically and unlawfully seized
a very valuable asset,
the Bank, from me.
-Ukraine, after the
fall of the communism,
should have been a
great success story
because it was a country
with lots of resources.
But, instead, it's one
of the worst stories,
right, in Eastern
Europe, in big, big trouble.
And this is because of the
people like Mr. Kolomoisky.
In Ukraine, the
raiding of corporations,
of industrial
assets, was a sport
and Mr. Kolomoisky
was one of the people
who enjoyed these sports.
So he took over mines,
he took over other assets,
he's used his own
private security
to enforce his will on
other businessmen,
on people, on the state.
So, PrivatBank shows
their big thinking,
shows -- shows how
they're able to capture --
capture a state
and be so influential.
We're talking about,
you know, a huge hole
in the Ukrainian
financial system,
in the Ukrainian budget.
-The state run PrivatBank
have spent years
trying to find the missing money
and claim billions were
moved from Ukraine
to a branch of
PrivatBank in Cyprus.
The money was then
laundered across the globe
through hundreds of shell
companies mainly registered
in notorious tax havens
like the British Virgin Islands,
Panama, and Delaware.
They claim shell companies
controlled by Kolomoisky
and his associates began
buying up corporations
in America's industrial
heartlands as early as 2008.
-The mill's been a large
part of everyone's lives.
It was a major
employer back in the day.
Steel industry was booming then.
-The workers claim
Kolomoisky and his associates
had little intention of
seeing the mill thrive
as they quickly cut
investment and costs.
-Some of the employees
at that point were talking
that there was no
maintenance being done,
that the mill on the inside
was slowly falling apart.
They were taking every
penny they could get
and moving it out.
-Neglect repairs on things.
They had an explosion out here.
Five guys got hurt,
three of them were
kind of serious.
Thank God nobody
got killed in there.
-A US lawsuit by the
state run PrivatBank alleges
Kolomoisky and his
associates fraudulently obtained
a $66,000,000 loan
on Warren Steel
and siphoned off millions into
other companies they controlled.
-When these places
close and they leave,
we became economically
depressed here.
Lost the steel industry
pretty much in a day.
It played a big role here
and it meant a lot to this town.
-Kolomoisky and his associates
abandoned the mill in 2016.
-I was a steel
worker for 30 years,
probably 28 of them here.
My oldest son was a steel
worker here, you know.
It was in our heritage, man.
This is a steel valley.
People call it the Rust Belt.
That's not good, you know.
That's not something
to be famous for.
-Kolomoisky told us he
denies PrivatBank claims
that the loans were fraudulent
and said all the loans have
been repaid, as far as I know.
He said he was not
personally involved
in the activities
of Warren Steel
but the managers told
him it was closed largely
due to the very
high cost of electricity
which made the
products uncompetitive
and the mill unprofitable.
PrivatBank lawyers claim
Warren Steel was a small cog
in an alleged
fraudulent loan scheme
that started in Ukraine and
stretches across America.
-Kolomoisky and his
associates bought skyscrapers,
steel companies,
and real estate in Michigan,
West Virginia, New York,
Kentucky, Indiana,
Illinois, Texas, and Ohio.
-I broke the story in
Cleveland about Kolomoisky.
It's this massive money
laundering scheme
whereby they blundered
hundreds of millions of dollars,
allegedly, in fraudulent
loans and used that money
to invest in real estate
across the United States.
And the bulk of
their acquisitions,
at least at the start,
were in Cleveland, Ohio.
Kind of a con.
Con Cleveland, con
the United States.
These crimes, no
one bothers to look at.
I mean, these real
estate transactions
happed in broad daylight
except they're so secretive
by their very nature
and complicated
that people don't really
know what's under the hood.
This is the first building
that Igor Kolomoisky
purchased in Cleveland.
It's One Cleveland Center.
It's 33 stories tall.
The fifth tallest
skyscraper in Cleveland.
Purchased in 2008
for about $86,000,000.
The AECOM Penton media building,
they bought it for $46,500,000.
In 2010, it was 90%
occupied, almost completely full.
They didn't try to retain their
tenants, seek out new tenants,
and they didn't do
the basic maintenance
and upkeep that made
tenants wanna stay.
Sort of indicates
that they didn't put
any investment into it.
And then when they sold
it in 2018 for $38,000,000
it was down to 57% occupancy.
-The PrivatBank lawsuit
alleges Kolomoisky
and his associates
fraudulently obtained
multiple million dollar
loans in Cleveland.
New loans repaid old loans
and from five buildings
alone $67,000,000
was siphoned off into
accounts they controlled.
-And to my right here is
the Huntington building.
Bought it for $18,500,000
and then promptly
did nothing with it.
Bought five buildings
in Cleveland.
That made them the
largest holders of commercial
real estate in Cleveland.
Unthinkable.
And no one had any
idea who these guys were.
This all happened
under the radar.
-Acting on evidence from
the Ukrainian authorities,
agents from the FBI kleptocracy
team took action in 2020.
-And right now FBI
agents are raiding offices
in several high rise
buildings in Cleveland.
-Alright, so we also just
got word that there is a raid
happening right now
in downtown Miami
that might be
connected to this one
at One Center here in Cleveland.
-Everyone who is
ready to invest someone
in a struggling community
is seen as a savior
and the kleptocrats
are never saviors
because, for them,
everything is a game.
It's just a game of money,
it's a game of power,
it's a game of moving
money from one population
that they rob to
another population
that they will
rob in the future.
-Kolomoisky told us he
and the other defendants
categorically deny
that the loans were
obtained by criminal means.
He said he's never
been convicted of a crime
and at this stage,
proceedings are ongoing.
To get the inside track on
Kolomoisky's dealings in America
I've contacted his
former business partner.
Vadim Shulman,
a multimillionaire
Ukrainian steel tycoon
lives in a Malibu mansion.
He was a co-owner
of Warren Steel
with Kolomoisky
and his associates,
but claims they cut him
out from the day to day
running of the business.
You were the first
person to make allegations
of wrongdoing at Warren Steel.
Can you tell me
how that happened?
When you found out about
the PrivatBank allegations
against Kolomoisky,
that he used it as his
base for money laundering,
how did you react?
And what was he like
to work with directly?
Vadim knew Kolomoisky
for over 15 years.
He's been trying to sue
him for the $30,000,000
he claims he lost
from Warren Steel.
Even though your
families were close you say
that Kolomoisky defrauded you.
Kolomoisky told us Shulman
has been unsuccessfully suing me
and my business partners
around the world for several years.
Each time he lost.
It is difficult to expect a
person who has spent years
pursuing me to offer
an objective opinion.
-In Ukraine, Kolomoisky and
his associates are using the courts
to challenge the
nationalization of PrivatBank.
In 2019, a Kyiv court
ruled in their favor.
But the head of the
Kyiv court, Pavlo Vovk,
has recently been charged with
corruption in an unrelated case.
The supreme court has
criticized judicial corruption
and protesters are
demanding Vovk's dismissal.
Daria Kaleniuk is one
of Ukraine's leading
anti-corruption activists.
-The justice system in
Ukraine is not independent.
It's very easy to buy a judge.
This court is just the
swamp of corruption.
-Judge Vovk denies
the allegations
and a counter demonstration
has turned up to support him.
Sytnyk is the head of the
state anti-corruption bureau
that brought charges
against Judge Vovk.
Daria tells us
she has witnessed this
type of counter protest before.
-Oligarch Kolomoisky is
usually using these techniques
and tactics,
so he simply paying through
his middleman, poor people,
to collect the crowd.
Last winter, there were
hundreds of paid protesters
demanding resignation
of the leadership
of the National Bank of Ukraine.
These paid protesters were
coming from the factories
controlled by
oligarch Kolomoisky.
And oligarch Kolomoisky
used these protesters in order
to pressure the leadership of
the National Bank of Ukraine
which nationalized PrivatBank.
So it's just the usual tactic.
-Kolomoisky has publicly
denied paying protesters.
-Most of the people
are upstairs. Let's go.
-Okay.
Daria works alongside
the National Anti-corruption
Bureau of Ukraine,
known as NABU.
-Yeah, and there is my office.
-How successful has
Kolomoisky been in fighting
for his interests and
protecting his wealth?
-He uses various tools
in order to attack NABU
and in order to attack
other institutions
which investigate him and which
took over the PrivatBank case.
NABU has official
cooperation with FBI.
He has lots of assets
in the United States.
Some of these assets
were frozen already,
so it's already damaging
to Igor Kolomoisky.
Therefore, his goal
is to blow up NABU.
He wants to dismiss the
current NABU director,
he wants to ensure
that the new director
is fully controllable
man or woman.
So his attention now,
those institutions we
have built and reformed,
he wants to destroy
them to get his money,
private money
laundering bank back.
-Reining in the power
of Ukraine's oligarchs
was a campaign promise
of President Zelensky
who was elected in 2019.
Do you have any faith that
President Zelensky will be able
to clamp down on stuff like
that happening in politics?
-It is a year, year and a
half of him being president.
He should have used that time
to understand how the state works.
So either President
Zelensky's blind
or he is not
committed to rule of law
and anti-corruption
reforms in Ukraine.
-Before his election,
Zelensky was a leading TV star
in Kolomoisky's
vast media empire.
When the government
nationalized PrivatBank in 2016
and began worldwide
investigations,
Kolomoisky needed
a new political ally.
He found one close to home.
I'm standing in front of 1+1,
the powerful and influential
Ukrainian TV network,
one that's also owned
by Igor Kolomoisky.
Being a successful oligarch
isn't just about
owning mines or banks,
it's also about controlling
your public image
and that's what Kolomoisky
has done with 1+1.
He used the TV network to
back Zelensky for president.
In fact, the day
before the first round
of presidential voting,
1+1 ran back to back
shows featuring Zelensky.
Kolomoisky seemed to
happy with Zelensky's election
that he actually
flew back to Ukraine
just after the victory
was announced
and, most tellingly, Zelensky
has fought off accusations
that he's Kolomoisky's
stooge ever since.
-[ Shouting in
foreign language ]
-Before 2019,
Zelensky was an actor
in a popular TV drama on one
of Kolomoisky's TV channels.
-[ Speaking in
foreign language ]
-He played the role
of Ukraine's president.
His character promised
to stamp out corruption
by any means.
Fiction became a less
dramatic reality in 2019.
Zelensky even adapted
the name of the TV show,
"Servants of the People,"
as his own party's name.
Kolomoisky's lawyer became
Zelensky's chief of staff.
-You look at the parliaments
all over Eastern
European countries
and you see these people
who have no connection
to politics whatsoever,
from comedians to actors,
who got promoted by
the interests behind them,
be kleptocrats.
Now, Zelensky of course,
has his own thinking
and at some point
he might escape the
gravity of Kolomoisky,
but it's gonna be
very, very, very hard.
-Zelensky has said he is not
a toy in Kolomoisky's hands.
But he still hasn't been able
to fulfill his election promise
to root out corruption
in the judicial system.
-To understand how Kolomoisky
became so powerful in politics
you have to go back to 2014.
Russia invaded
Ukraine's Crimea region
and pro-Russian separatists
tried to seize the region
of Dnipropetrovsk Oblast.
Kolomoisky was the
region's governor at the time.
He spent $10,000,000
of his own money
creating a private militia
called the Dnipro One Battalion
and offered a
bounty for the capture
of Russian collaborators.
I'm going to meet Yuriy Bereza,
the former commander
of Dnipro One
to find out what
Kolomoisky's like,
not just as an oligarch,
but as a military
and political figure.
I've heard so much about
Kolomoisky from his critics
and now I want to see it from
the perspective of someone
who was part of
his inner circle.
Kolomoisky at the time
was the regional governor
and he was also
funding the battalion.
How did that work?
Kolomoisky used his TV channels
to highlight the threat that
pro-Russian separatists
posed to Ukraine and the West.
What would have
happened to Dnipro
if Kolomoisky hadn't
offered that support?
-Kolomoisky saw opportunity
when Russia was
invading Ukraine.
He suddenly played
it all, you know, on TV,
he played it everywhere
and he said, "I'm
the savior of Ukraine."
Well, it's like he was looting
Ukraine for so many years.
He was making Ukrainians poor.
But now at least he
gave something back
and he's defending
the Ukrainians.
And the Ukrainian public voted
because they had no choice.
They didn't want the Russians
to invade and they suddenly
had Mr. Kolomoisky
stopping the Russians.
I don't think he's
a national savior.
It's like, you know, you'd
say I'm gonna stab you,
you know, hundreds of times
and then, I'm gonna
call a doctor to see
if something can
be done about you.
It's really what Mr. Kolomoisky
has done, in my opinion.
-I've come to the heart
of Kolomoisky's power,
his hometown, Dnipro.
Oh, I think I can see
the Menorah Hotel.
It's probably the brightest
thing in the entire city.
Yeah, Kolomoisky just
called up a builder and said,
"Build me a hotel in the
shape of a giant menorah,"
and they did it.
I've decided to check into his
$70,000,000 Menorah Hotel.
The presence of
Western journalists
in Kolomoisky's kingdom
seems to have made
his hotel staff suspicious.
-We're good? Great, thanks.
-Have a good rest.
-Thanks very much. Thank you.
What was that about?
-They literally just came in
and just fiddled with the lock
while we were still in the
room and then just left.
Welcome to the Menorah Hotel.
I thought I'd head out
into the center of the city
and ask a few people, locals,
what they make of
their infamous Oligarch.
What do you think of an
oligarch like Igor Kolomoisky?
What do you think of an
oligarch like Igor Kolomoisky?
Have you guys heard
about, you know,
Igor Kolomoisky being accused
of stealing money from PrivatBank?
What do you think about that?
I just thought it
was interesting that
they really highlighted
the football club
that Kolomoisky supports
as an example of something
that they really rate him for,
which when you think about it,
if you support a local
community initiative or project
like a football club that's
exactly what it does.
It's a form of laundering,
it's just reputation laundering.
-Tens of thousands
in this region
depend on Kolomoisky
and his associates for jobs.
They own some of the
biggest businesses here.
The workers of Krivoy Rog
iron ore mine are on strike.
They tell us their
wages have been cut
and working conditions
have become dangerous.
Kolomoisky sold his share in
the mine in December 2019,
but a senior trade
union leader has publicly
claimed the mines management
still report to Kolomoisky.
What do you think of
the owners of the mine,
people like Kolomoisky?
Few TV crews come
here and someone appears
to be paying close
attention to our every move.
Hang on. Misha,
just come here a sec.
So, we've clocked someone
who is definitely filming us.
He's the guy in a navy
blue bomber jacket,
sort of, standing
directly behind me,
probably his eyes
piercing into my back.
How close are they?
-About five meters.
-Okay. Well
There he goes.
We tried to find
out who this man is.
-[ Speaking foreign language ]
-A search of a 2019
Ukrainian TV program
reveals he bares a striking
resemblance to a bodyguard
who has worked for Kolomoisky
and President Zelensky.
The families of the
striking miners claim
they have been put
under surveillance.
Valeria's husband has been
protesting down the mine
and she hasn't
seen him for 25 days.
The mine's management
claimed the strike is illegal
and say they tried to
engage with the miners
and offer pay rises.
The miners deny there has
been any real term increase
to their wages.
-[ Speaking foreign language ]
-Valeria alleges
she's being intimidated
by the mine's management
to force her husband
into submission.
With no wages coming in,
Valeria is struggling to cope.
If you could speak to the
owners to convince them
how bad things were
what would you say?
The mine's management
deny being involved
in any intimidation
and say they will fully
investigate the matter.
Kolomoisky told us
that he has not been
a beneficial owner of
the mine for several years.
He said that the issues
of the mine's management,
including wages and safety,
are dealt with by
hundreds of professionals.
I do not deal with these issues.
♪♪
-In America, the US
justice department
allege Kolomoisky and
Boholyubov embezzled
billions of dollars
of fraudulent loans
from 2008 through 2016.
In London, the high court
has frozen $2,500,000,000
of their worldwide assets.
In Ukraine, Kolomoisky and
his associates are free men.
They categorically
deny any unlawful actions
and have launched counter
lawsuits across the globe.
Oligarchs have had the
run of Ukraine for decades.
In 2014, the people
of Ukraine rose up
to bring an end to corruption.
Hundreds were
killed in the battle
to oust President Yanukovych.
He had amassed a
$350,000,000 fortune
by siphoning off state assets.
His private mansion
was turned into a museum
and was meant to
signify a new start.
It's really a symbol
and a monument to
the corruption in Ukraine
that goes to the
very heart of politics,
corruption and kleptocracy
that continues today.
How much is this chandelier?
So, he got massages
and spa treatments here?
But since 2014, the
inequality of wealth
has only got worse in Ukraine.
Oh, my God!
It's huge!
10 oligarchs,
including Kolomoisky,
now control 80% of
the country's wealth.
Wow.
How much do you think
this room just by itself cost?
Under pressure from the IMF,
Zelensky's parliament
finally passed the so-called
Anti-Kolomoisky
banking law in May 2020.
This law stops
Ukraine's oligarchs
from regaining
control of failed banks.
The IMF signed off
on a $5,000,000,000
financial aid package
to help boost Ukraine's economy,
but it came with several strings
attached including a government
crack down on corruption.
If Zelensky doesn't do enough
to root out corruption in Ukraine
the country could be losing out
on billions of dollars
worth of support.
One month later,
Kolomoisky said Ukraine
should turn their back
on the West and the IMF
and build bridges with Russia.
-Now he's playing the
other side and he's saying
no, actually, we should,
we need to have a really
good relationship with Russia
and we can get money from Russia
and they're ready to
give us many billions,
you know, to save
the Ukrainian economy
and we don't need the West.
Why's that? Because
the West is investigating
Mr. Kolomoisky right now.
What enabled all this to go
on for a very, very long time
is the fact that the banks
that were in the middle
of these transactions
did not care.
This is a crime system
that if not dismantled,
if not stopped, it will
completely destroy countries.
Many countries like Ukraine
are already on the
verge of collapse.
-Kolomoisky told us he
has never been convicted
of any criminal offense
and he categorically denies
any unlawful actions of money
laundering, fraud,
or kleptocracy.
We contacted Mr. Boholyubov
and he failed to reply.
In March 2021, the US
State Department accused
Kolomoisky of involvement
in significant corruption,
placing him and his immediate
family on a sanctions list
which bars them
from entering the US.
♪♪
crime has no natural predator.
-[ Speaks foreign language ]
-Crime syndicates are expanding
and forging alliances
across the globe.
-[ Speaks foreign language ]
-As law enforcement
struggle to stop them up
to 5% of the global economy
is now in criminal hands.
I'm Paul Radu and
for the past 20 years
I have investigated
international organized crime
in the tune of 400,000,000,000.
And this is a very, very small
slice of what's really going on.
-I think there's some people.
-Let's go, let's go.
-In this series, I'm working
with a team of reporters
around the world --
-Are you angry with
yourself for being part of this?
-[ Speaking foreign language ]
-to discover how a
generation of international gangs
are redrawing the criminal map.
-Billions of dollars of
criminal cash are washed
through international
cities every year.
But now there's a new
breed of money launderers
called kleptocrats.
They are political elites
who steal public funds
and loot state assets.
The billions they
launder across the globe
can bring countries
to the brink of collapse.
In what could be
one of the world's
biggest bank
robberies, two oligarchs,
Igor Kolomoisky and
Henadiy Boholyubov
stand accused of
laundering $5,500,000,000
from Ukraine's biggest bank,
PrivatBank, which they founded.
Valeria Gontareva
was one of the people
who uncovered the
alleged fraud at PrivatBank
which had over
20,000,000 customers.
-It's my house on fire.
-Wow.
God, that's a huge fire.
-Yeah.
It was absolutely devastated.
It was just awful
for all my family.
All my photos,
all my mother's and
father's photos, everything.
They burned my life.
My contract with Central
Bank was for seven years,
but I left Central
Bank after three years
because of death threats.
And you can see even
photos of these death threats.
It was a coffin
with my mannequin.
Absolutely sure that right now
it's revenge of one
particular oligarch,
Kolomoisky.
Deputy Head of
Presidential Administration
called me and he introduced me
Kolomoisky and Kolomoisky
said, "And, Valeria, I observe
that you were without
any security guards.
There's news that to
kill person in Ukraine
costs just 1,000 bucks."
-Kolomoisky is one of Ukraine's
richest and most powerful men.
The former political
governor of Ukraine's
main industrial region,
he owns airlines, factories,
oil companies, and TV stations.
The crown jewel in his
empire was PrivatBank
which he co-owned
with Henadiy Boholyubov.
What was your
involvement with PrivatBank?
-When I was
nominated the Governor
of the Central Bank in 2014
we immediately started
to do stress test analysis
of Ukrainian banking system.
The result of this, the
stress test of PrivatBank
was $5,500,000,000
capital hole in PrivatBank.
And I still believe that it's
the biggest financial fraud
in the world.
-$5,500,000,000 disappeared.
It's alleged that Kolomoisky
and his associates
siphoned it off into
accounts they controlled.
It was oligarch universe.
It was the oligarch, we
call it oligarch banking.
-Where did all
these billions go?
-It's US, in Israel, in
Switzerland, in Cyprus.
Biggest problem
about the PrivatBank,
it was too big to fail.
With 20,000,000 customers
when you have 600,000 of small
and medium size companies there,
when you have more than
3,000,000 pensioners there.
You know, you
could not interrupt
and stop this business
even for a few days.
[ Speaking foreign language ]
-Almost half of
Ukraine's population
had savings in PrivatBank.
To stop them losing their
money the state bailed it out
with over $5,000,000,000
of taxpayers' money
and took over the bank.
Kolomoisky told us
regarding the so-called
laundering of $5,500,000,000,
he and his associates
categorically deny
that funds were
siphoned out of the bank
or that the bank
suffered any loss at all.
He said it was a
successful business
capable of making profit.
He claims the real
reason for nationalization
was not to protect customers,
but was a pre-arranged goal
and they wanted to
persecute shareholders.
Valeria made many
powerful enemies
after closing down dozens
of failing Ukrainian banks,
but claims putting
PrivatBank under state control
left her a marked woman.
-Even when I joined LSC
and start to work in London
they continue all these
campaign against me.
Kolomoisky's threats
became absolutely incredible.
First of all it was
a car accident.
Police could not find anything
suspicious in this car accident.
And he even promised
to kidnap me from London.
-Kolomoisky denies he has
ever made any threats to Valeria
and says she does
not give any evidence
at all of my supposed
involvement in her misfortunes,
be it a burnt car or a house.
Kolomoisky told
us whilst I admit
that some of my
statements about Valeria
might be considered
somewhat harsh,
she, following orders,
cynically and unlawfully seized
a very valuable asset,
the Bank, from me.
-Ukraine, after the
fall of the communism,
should have been a
great success story
because it was a country
with lots of resources.
But, instead, it's one
of the worst stories,
right, in Eastern
Europe, in big, big trouble.
And this is because of the
people like Mr. Kolomoisky.
In Ukraine, the
raiding of corporations,
of industrial
assets, was a sport
and Mr. Kolomoisky
was one of the people
who enjoyed these sports.
So he took over mines,
he took over other assets,
he's used his own
private security
to enforce his will on
other businessmen,
on people, on the state.
So, PrivatBank shows
their big thinking,
shows -- shows how
they're able to capture --
capture a state
and be so influential.
We're talking about,
you know, a huge hole
in the Ukrainian
financial system,
in the Ukrainian budget.
-The state run PrivatBank
have spent years
trying to find the missing money
and claim billions were
moved from Ukraine
to a branch of
PrivatBank in Cyprus.
The money was then
laundered across the globe
through hundreds of shell
companies mainly registered
in notorious tax havens
like the British Virgin Islands,
Panama, and Delaware.
They claim shell companies
controlled by Kolomoisky
and his associates began
buying up corporations
in America's industrial
heartlands as early as 2008.
-The mill's been a large
part of everyone's lives.
It was a major
employer back in the day.
Steel industry was booming then.
-The workers claim
Kolomoisky and his associates
had little intention of
seeing the mill thrive
as they quickly cut
investment and costs.
-Some of the employees
at that point were talking
that there was no
maintenance being done,
that the mill on the inside
was slowly falling apart.
They were taking every
penny they could get
and moving it out.
-Neglect repairs on things.
They had an explosion out here.
Five guys got hurt,
three of them were
kind of serious.
Thank God nobody
got killed in there.
-A US lawsuit by the
state run PrivatBank alleges
Kolomoisky and his
associates fraudulently obtained
a $66,000,000 loan
on Warren Steel
and siphoned off millions into
other companies they controlled.
-When these places
close and they leave,
we became economically
depressed here.
Lost the steel industry
pretty much in a day.
It played a big role here
and it meant a lot to this town.
-Kolomoisky and his associates
abandoned the mill in 2016.
-I was a steel
worker for 30 years,
probably 28 of them here.
My oldest son was a steel
worker here, you know.
It was in our heritage, man.
This is a steel valley.
People call it the Rust Belt.
That's not good, you know.
That's not something
to be famous for.
-Kolomoisky told us he
denies PrivatBank claims
that the loans were fraudulent
and said all the loans have
been repaid, as far as I know.
He said he was not
personally involved
in the activities
of Warren Steel
but the managers told
him it was closed largely
due to the very
high cost of electricity
which made the
products uncompetitive
and the mill unprofitable.
PrivatBank lawyers claim
Warren Steel was a small cog
in an alleged
fraudulent loan scheme
that started in Ukraine and
stretches across America.
-Kolomoisky and his
associates bought skyscrapers,
steel companies,
and real estate in Michigan,
West Virginia, New York,
Kentucky, Indiana,
Illinois, Texas, and Ohio.
-I broke the story in
Cleveland about Kolomoisky.
It's this massive money
laundering scheme
whereby they blundered
hundreds of millions of dollars,
allegedly, in fraudulent
loans and used that money
to invest in real estate
across the United States.
And the bulk of
their acquisitions,
at least at the start,
were in Cleveland, Ohio.
Kind of a con.
Con Cleveland, con
the United States.
These crimes, no
one bothers to look at.
I mean, these real
estate transactions
happed in broad daylight
except they're so secretive
by their very nature
and complicated
that people don't really
know what's under the hood.
This is the first building
that Igor Kolomoisky
purchased in Cleveland.
It's One Cleveland Center.
It's 33 stories tall.
The fifth tallest
skyscraper in Cleveland.
Purchased in 2008
for about $86,000,000.
The AECOM Penton media building,
they bought it for $46,500,000.
In 2010, it was 90%
occupied, almost completely full.
They didn't try to retain their
tenants, seek out new tenants,
and they didn't do
the basic maintenance
and upkeep that made
tenants wanna stay.
Sort of indicates
that they didn't put
any investment into it.
And then when they sold
it in 2018 for $38,000,000
it was down to 57% occupancy.
-The PrivatBank lawsuit
alleges Kolomoisky
and his associates
fraudulently obtained
multiple million dollar
loans in Cleveland.
New loans repaid old loans
and from five buildings
alone $67,000,000
was siphoned off into
accounts they controlled.
-And to my right here is
the Huntington building.
Bought it for $18,500,000
and then promptly
did nothing with it.
Bought five buildings
in Cleveland.
That made them the
largest holders of commercial
real estate in Cleveland.
Unthinkable.
And no one had any
idea who these guys were.
This all happened
under the radar.
-Acting on evidence from
the Ukrainian authorities,
agents from the FBI kleptocracy
team took action in 2020.
-And right now FBI
agents are raiding offices
in several high rise
buildings in Cleveland.
-Alright, so we also just
got word that there is a raid
happening right now
in downtown Miami
that might be
connected to this one
at One Center here in Cleveland.
-Everyone who is
ready to invest someone
in a struggling community
is seen as a savior
and the kleptocrats
are never saviors
because, for them,
everything is a game.
It's just a game of money,
it's a game of power,
it's a game of moving
money from one population
that they rob to
another population
that they will
rob in the future.
-Kolomoisky told us he
and the other defendants
categorically deny
that the loans were
obtained by criminal means.
He said he's never
been convicted of a crime
and at this stage,
proceedings are ongoing.
To get the inside track on
Kolomoisky's dealings in America
I've contacted his
former business partner.
Vadim Shulman,
a multimillionaire
Ukrainian steel tycoon
lives in a Malibu mansion.
He was a co-owner
of Warren Steel
with Kolomoisky
and his associates,
but claims they cut him
out from the day to day
running of the business.
You were the first
person to make allegations
of wrongdoing at Warren Steel.
Can you tell me
how that happened?
When you found out about
the PrivatBank allegations
against Kolomoisky,
that he used it as his
base for money laundering,
how did you react?
And what was he like
to work with directly?
Vadim knew Kolomoisky
for over 15 years.
He's been trying to sue
him for the $30,000,000
he claims he lost
from Warren Steel.
Even though your
families were close you say
that Kolomoisky defrauded you.
Kolomoisky told us Shulman
has been unsuccessfully suing me
and my business partners
around the world for several years.
Each time he lost.
It is difficult to expect a
person who has spent years
pursuing me to offer
an objective opinion.
-In Ukraine, Kolomoisky and
his associates are using the courts
to challenge the
nationalization of PrivatBank.
In 2019, a Kyiv court
ruled in their favor.
But the head of the
Kyiv court, Pavlo Vovk,
has recently been charged with
corruption in an unrelated case.
The supreme court has
criticized judicial corruption
and protesters are
demanding Vovk's dismissal.
Daria Kaleniuk is one
of Ukraine's leading
anti-corruption activists.
-The justice system in
Ukraine is not independent.
It's very easy to buy a judge.
This court is just the
swamp of corruption.
-Judge Vovk denies
the allegations
and a counter demonstration
has turned up to support him.
Sytnyk is the head of the
state anti-corruption bureau
that brought charges
against Judge Vovk.
Daria tells us
she has witnessed this
type of counter protest before.
-Oligarch Kolomoisky is
usually using these techniques
and tactics,
so he simply paying through
his middleman, poor people,
to collect the crowd.
Last winter, there were
hundreds of paid protesters
demanding resignation
of the leadership
of the National Bank of Ukraine.
These paid protesters were
coming from the factories
controlled by
oligarch Kolomoisky.
And oligarch Kolomoisky
used these protesters in order
to pressure the leadership of
the National Bank of Ukraine
which nationalized PrivatBank.
So it's just the usual tactic.
-Kolomoisky has publicly
denied paying protesters.
-Most of the people
are upstairs. Let's go.
-Okay.
Daria works alongside
the National Anti-corruption
Bureau of Ukraine,
known as NABU.
-Yeah, and there is my office.
-How successful has
Kolomoisky been in fighting
for his interests and
protecting his wealth?
-He uses various tools
in order to attack NABU
and in order to attack
other institutions
which investigate him and which
took over the PrivatBank case.
NABU has official
cooperation with FBI.
He has lots of assets
in the United States.
Some of these assets
were frozen already,
so it's already damaging
to Igor Kolomoisky.
Therefore, his goal
is to blow up NABU.
He wants to dismiss the
current NABU director,
he wants to ensure
that the new director
is fully controllable
man or woman.
So his attention now,
those institutions we
have built and reformed,
he wants to destroy
them to get his money,
private money
laundering bank back.
-Reining in the power
of Ukraine's oligarchs
was a campaign promise
of President Zelensky
who was elected in 2019.
Do you have any faith that
President Zelensky will be able
to clamp down on stuff like
that happening in politics?
-It is a year, year and a
half of him being president.
He should have used that time
to understand how the state works.
So either President
Zelensky's blind
or he is not
committed to rule of law
and anti-corruption
reforms in Ukraine.
-Before his election,
Zelensky was a leading TV star
in Kolomoisky's
vast media empire.
When the government
nationalized PrivatBank in 2016
and began worldwide
investigations,
Kolomoisky needed
a new political ally.
He found one close to home.
I'm standing in front of 1+1,
the powerful and influential
Ukrainian TV network,
one that's also owned
by Igor Kolomoisky.
Being a successful oligarch
isn't just about
owning mines or banks,
it's also about controlling
your public image
and that's what Kolomoisky
has done with 1+1.
He used the TV network to
back Zelensky for president.
In fact, the day
before the first round
of presidential voting,
1+1 ran back to back
shows featuring Zelensky.
Kolomoisky seemed to
happy with Zelensky's election
that he actually
flew back to Ukraine
just after the victory
was announced
and, most tellingly, Zelensky
has fought off accusations
that he's Kolomoisky's
stooge ever since.
-[ Shouting in
foreign language ]
-Before 2019,
Zelensky was an actor
in a popular TV drama on one
of Kolomoisky's TV channels.
-[ Speaking in
foreign language ]
-He played the role
of Ukraine's president.
His character promised
to stamp out corruption
by any means.
Fiction became a less
dramatic reality in 2019.
Zelensky even adapted
the name of the TV show,
"Servants of the People,"
as his own party's name.
Kolomoisky's lawyer became
Zelensky's chief of staff.
-You look at the parliaments
all over Eastern
European countries
and you see these people
who have no connection
to politics whatsoever,
from comedians to actors,
who got promoted by
the interests behind them,
be kleptocrats.
Now, Zelensky of course,
has his own thinking
and at some point
he might escape the
gravity of Kolomoisky,
but it's gonna be
very, very, very hard.
-Zelensky has said he is not
a toy in Kolomoisky's hands.
But he still hasn't been able
to fulfill his election promise
to root out corruption
in the judicial system.
-To understand how Kolomoisky
became so powerful in politics
you have to go back to 2014.
Russia invaded
Ukraine's Crimea region
and pro-Russian separatists
tried to seize the region
of Dnipropetrovsk Oblast.
Kolomoisky was the
region's governor at the time.
He spent $10,000,000
of his own money
creating a private militia
called the Dnipro One Battalion
and offered a
bounty for the capture
of Russian collaborators.
I'm going to meet Yuriy Bereza,
the former commander
of Dnipro One
to find out what
Kolomoisky's like,
not just as an oligarch,
but as a military
and political figure.
I've heard so much about
Kolomoisky from his critics
and now I want to see it from
the perspective of someone
who was part of
his inner circle.
Kolomoisky at the time
was the regional governor
and he was also
funding the battalion.
How did that work?
Kolomoisky used his TV channels
to highlight the threat that
pro-Russian separatists
posed to Ukraine and the West.
What would have
happened to Dnipro
if Kolomoisky hadn't
offered that support?
-Kolomoisky saw opportunity
when Russia was
invading Ukraine.
He suddenly played
it all, you know, on TV,
he played it everywhere
and he said, "I'm
the savior of Ukraine."
Well, it's like he was looting
Ukraine for so many years.
He was making Ukrainians poor.
But now at least he
gave something back
and he's defending
the Ukrainians.
And the Ukrainian public voted
because they had no choice.
They didn't want the Russians
to invade and they suddenly
had Mr. Kolomoisky
stopping the Russians.
I don't think he's
a national savior.
It's like, you know, you'd
say I'm gonna stab you,
you know, hundreds of times
and then, I'm gonna
call a doctor to see
if something can
be done about you.
It's really what Mr. Kolomoisky
has done, in my opinion.
-I've come to the heart
of Kolomoisky's power,
his hometown, Dnipro.
Oh, I think I can see
the Menorah Hotel.
It's probably the brightest
thing in the entire city.
Yeah, Kolomoisky just
called up a builder and said,
"Build me a hotel in the
shape of a giant menorah,"
and they did it.
I've decided to check into his
$70,000,000 Menorah Hotel.
The presence of
Western journalists
in Kolomoisky's kingdom
seems to have made
his hotel staff suspicious.
-We're good? Great, thanks.
-Have a good rest.
-Thanks very much. Thank you.
What was that about?
-They literally just came in
and just fiddled with the lock
while we were still in the
room and then just left.
Welcome to the Menorah Hotel.
I thought I'd head out
into the center of the city
and ask a few people, locals,
what they make of
their infamous Oligarch.
What do you think of an
oligarch like Igor Kolomoisky?
What do you think of an
oligarch like Igor Kolomoisky?
Have you guys heard
about, you know,
Igor Kolomoisky being accused
of stealing money from PrivatBank?
What do you think about that?
I just thought it
was interesting that
they really highlighted
the football club
that Kolomoisky supports
as an example of something
that they really rate him for,
which when you think about it,
if you support a local
community initiative or project
like a football club that's
exactly what it does.
It's a form of laundering,
it's just reputation laundering.
-Tens of thousands
in this region
depend on Kolomoisky
and his associates for jobs.
They own some of the
biggest businesses here.
The workers of Krivoy Rog
iron ore mine are on strike.
They tell us their
wages have been cut
and working conditions
have become dangerous.
Kolomoisky sold his share in
the mine in December 2019,
but a senior trade
union leader has publicly
claimed the mines management
still report to Kolomoisky.
What do you think of
the owners of the mine,
people like Kolomoisky?
Few TV crews come
here and someone appears
to be paying close
attention to our every move.
Hang on. Misha,
just come here a sec.
So, we've clocked someone
who is definitely filming us.
He's the guy in a navy
blue bomber jacket,
sort of, standing
directly behind me,
probably his eyes
piercing into my back.
How close are they?
-About five meters.
-Okay. Well
There he goes.
We tried to find
out who this man is.
-[ Speaking foreign language ]
-A search of a 2019
Ukrainian TV program
reveals he bares a striking
resemblance to a bodyguard
who has worked for Kolomoisky
and President Zelensky.
The families of the
striking miners claim
they have been put
under surveillance.
Valeria's husband has been
protesting down the mine
and she hasn't
seen him for 25 days.
The mine's management
claimed the strike is illegal
and say they tried to
engage with the miners
and offer pay rises.
The miners deny there has
been any real term increase
to their wages.
-[ Speaking foreign language ]
-Valeria alleges
she's being intimidated
by the mine's management
to force her husband
into submission.
With no wages coming in,
Valeria is struggling to cope.
If you could speak to the
owners to convince them
how bad things were
what would you say?
The mine's management
deny being involved
in any intimidation
and say they will fully
investigate the matter.
Kolomoisky told us
that he has not been
a beneficial owner of
the mine for several years.
He said that the issues
of the mine's management,
including wages and safety,
are dealt with by
hundreds of professionals.
I do not deal with these issues.
♪♪
-In America, the US
justice department
allege Kolomoisky and
Boholyubov embezzled
billions of dollars
of fraudulent loans
from 2008 through 2016.
In London, the high court
has frozen $2,500,000,000
of their worldwide assets.
In Ukraine, Kolomoisky and
his associates are free men.
They categorically
deny any unlawful actions
and have launched counter
lawsuits across the globe.
Oligarchs have had the
run of Ukraine for decades.
In 2014, the people
of Ukraine rose up
to bring an end to corruption.
Hundreds were
killed in the battle
to oust President Yanukovych.
He had amassed a
$350,000,000 fortune
by siphoning off state assets.
His private mansion
was turned into a museum
and was meant to
signify a new start.
It's really a symbol
and a monument to
the corruption in Ukraine
that goes to the
very heart of politics,
corruption and kleptocracy
that continues today.
How much is this chandelier?
So, he got massages
and spa treatments here?
But since 2014, the
inequality of wealth
has only got worse in Ukraine.
Oh, my God!
It's huge!
10 oligarchs,
including Kolomoisky,
now control 80% of
the country's wealth.
Wow.
How much do you think
this room just by itself cost?
Under pressure from the IMF,
Zelensky's parliament
finally passed the so-called
Anti-Kolomoisky
banking law in May 2020.
This law stops
Ukraine's oligarchs
from regaining
control of failed banks.
The IMF signed off
on a $5,000,000,000
financial aid package
to help boost Ukraine's economy,
but it came with several strings
attached including a government
crack down on corruption.
If Zelensky doesn't do enough
to root out corruption in Ukraine
the country could be losing out
on billions of dollars
worth of support.
One month later,
Kolomoisky said Ukraine
should turn their back
on the West and the IMF
and build bridges with Russia.
-Now he's playing the
other side and he's saying
no, actually, we should,
we need to have a really
good relationship with Russia
and we can get money from Russia
and they're ready to
give us many billions,
you know, to save
the Ukrainian economy
and we don't need the West.
Why's that? Because
the West is investigating
Mr. Kolomoisky right now.
What enabled all this to go
on for a very, very long time
is the fact that the banks
that were in the middle
of these transactions
did not care.
This is a crime system
that if not dismantled,
if not stopped, it will
completely destroy countries.
Many countries like Ukraine
are already on the
verge of collapse.
-Kolomoisky told us he
has never been convicted
of any criminal offense
and he categorically denies
any unlawful actions of money
laundering, fraud,
or kleptocracy.
We contacted Mr. Boholyubov
and he failed to reply.
In March 2021, the US
State Department accused
Kolomoisky of involvement
in significant corruption,
placing him and his immediate
family on a sanctions list
which bars them
from entering the US.
♪♪