What does the future hold in store for one of the leading media and telecom companies in Ukraine?
Earlier this month the Security Services of Ukraine (SSU) announced that Kyivstar, the country’s largest mobile operator, was one of 20 companies from across several industries to have had their assets seized by the authorities. Kyivstar responded shortly afterwards by dismissing press reports about the “seizure of 100%” of its assets, adding that only its corporate rights had been taken and this did not affect its operational activities.
At the same time, the Dutch-registered company Veon, which is the 100% owner of Kyivstar, announced that it had closed the sale of its Russian operations and was no longer present in the country. It also issued a detailed explanation – and indeed rebuttal – of press reports about Kyivstar.
This was to the effect that the three individuals whose corporate rights had been seized – Mikhail Fridman, Peter Aven and Andrei Kosogov – do not own any shares in Veon or Kyivstar. Kyivstar, according to Veon, had also incorrected been linked to Fridman in reports saying that Ukraine’s Ministry of Justice is finalising a lawsuit to confiscate his assets in the country.
Fridman is a Ukrainian-born, Russian-Israeli oligarch who founded Alfa Group and subsequently the international investment company LetterOne. He was on the supervisory board of directors at Veon before being sanctioned by the EU in 2022.
Despite the statements by Kyivstar and Veon, local reports about the former’s fate refuse to go away. Some say that it could be nationalised or broken up and sold on to other companies if an ownership link with Fridman can be proved.
Looking at the bigger picture, Ukraine is in a state of war and making efforts to align the framework under which its media industry operates with that of the EU. Ownership of key media assets by oligarchs, as has until now been the case, is incompatible with this aim.
For more information about Chris Dziadul, please visit https://www.chrisdziadul.com
