Kyiv (dpa-AFX) – Rinat Akhmetov, the richest Ukrainian before the Russian invasion, has given up his media business because of the threat of being included in a register for oligarchs. Akhmetov said in a statement on Monday that his media group would transfer all TV and print licenses to the state and shut down the Internet media. The media group includes eleven television channels, the news site Segodnya.ua and the online TV service OLL.TV. More than 4000 people work for the group. Akhmetov put the total investments at the equivalent of more than 1.5 billion euros.
Akhmetov’s announcement was praised in the presidential office in Kyiv as a step towards transparent relations and the abandonment of back-room agreements. “Today we have a worthy example from the SCM group – the law applies equally to everyone,” Presidential Advisor Mykhailo Podoliak wrote on Twitter.
Last year, the government in Kyiv passed a law intended to restrict the political influence of super-rich Ukrainians. Large entrepreneurs with media influence are to be included in a so-called oligarch register. According to this, these oligarchs are not allowed to finance parties, political advertising or demonstrations and are excluded from privatizations.
The 55-year-old Akhmetov was previously considered a patron of the ousted pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych, but has avoided taking a political stance in recent years. The current President, Volodymyr Zelensky, surprisingly accused Akhmetov of preparing a putsch in November. Actions had not followed./ast/DP/he