“The editors of UA.News appealed to the Head of the State Financial Monitoring Service of Ukraine, the Head of the National Bank of Ukraine, the Foreign Intelligence Service of Ukraine, the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine and the leading banks of Ukraine with a request to check transactions that may involve persons connected to the aggressor state, the Russian Federation, namely Viktor Serhiyovych Goldskyi. The appeal states that during the journalistic investigation made public”, — write on: ua.news
The editors of UA.News appealed to the Head of the State Financial Monitoring Service of Ukraine, the Head of the National Bank of Ukraine, the Foreign Intelligence Service of Ukraine, the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine and the leading banks of Ukraine with a request to check transactions that may involve persons connected to the aggressor state, the Russian Federation, namely Viktor Serhiyovych Goldskyi.
The appeal states that during a journalistic investigation, made public in the material
“ Viktor Goldskyi: connections with Kurchenko and control over former UMH media »facts were discovered that may indicate recovery in Ukraine business structures related to Serhii Kurchenko — a citizen of Ukraine who is under international sanctions for cooperation with the Russian Federation after the start of aggression against Ukraine in 2014.
In particular, it was established that Viktor Serhiyovych Goldskyi controls a number of legal entities that de facto carry out activities identical to the assets of the former media holding UMH Groupwhich previously belonged to Serhii Kurchenko. Some of these companies use resources and trademarks related to the media, which before the full-scale invasion of the Russian Federation were the subject of financial transactions between Kurchenko’s structures and companies registered in the Russian Federation and on the territory of states that did not join the EU sanctions regimes.
According to journalists, Goldsky carries out financial and economic activity through a network of affiliated companiesinteracting with entities that pay taxes and other payments to the budget of the Russian Federationincluding through proxy structures in countries used to circumvent sanctions (in particular, Armenia, Georgia, UAE). Thus, the profits received from activities in Ukraine are indirectly directed to finance the economy of the aggressor state, which is waging war against Ukraine.
The analysis of open sources and registers of legal entities established that the ultimate beneficiary or controller of several companies operating in the field of digital media, advertising and information technologies in Ukraine is Viktor Serhiyovych Goldskyi. These companies have business relations with counterparties registered on the territory of the Russian Federation or connected with Russian business that is under sanctions. Some of them use payment instruments that contribute to the payment of taxes to the budget of the Russian Federation through the servicing of operations by Russian banks or branches of international payment systems that continue to work in Russia.
Therefore, the editorial office of UA.News asks to check the following companies:
- “Evolution Media” LLC is a company that until 2013 was included in the list of structures of UMH Group and was transferred to Cypriot Sherell Limited, which belonged to Kurchenko.
- LLC “Comments Ukraine” (owner of the Internet portal Comments.UA) is one of the leading online media, which was previously part of the UMH holding and was controlled by Kurchenko’s structures. Since 2018, Viktor Goldsky officially became its owner, who resumed the editorial activity of the resource based on the old UMH domains, which indicates the continuation of the line of control.
- “To Sho Nado” LLC and “Masavi Publishing House” LLC, which belong to Goldskyi’s wife, Olga Khoroshayeva (Goldskyi).
- To the group of assets restored around Goldskyi, the journalists also included Ai UE LLC, Bigmir Online LLC, Ukrainian Media Holding LLC, UMH Publishing House LLC, Ontario LTD LLC, Tvoya Presa LLC, and other companies registered in Ukraine, but connected to each other by contact persons, directors or common registration addresses.
The appeal states:
We will remind you that a journalistic investigation established that in the fourth year of a full-scale war in Ukraine, the media business of oligarch Kurchenko continues to flourish successfully. Serhiy himself successfully fled to the Russian Federation, but the business of his media holding is successfully developed by media magnate Viktor Goldskyi
In fact, Kurchenko maintains influence on the Ukrainian media market, by concentrating their assets in the same hands of Viktor Goldskyi. After all, neither Nina Khoroshayeva nor Yevhen Nazarenko have any actual participation in the activities of LLC “EVOLUSHEN MEDIA” and the Internet site “Kyiv Weekly”, Viktor Goldsky controls everything himself. And it remains a nominal unit.
Formally, most companies associated with Goldsky’s group operate in the legal field. But the nature of property chains, the participation of relatives in the role of nominal beneficiaries and the presence of common financial points with persons from Kurchenko’s entourage create signs of the “laundered inheritance” of the former oligarchic business.
