Kolomoisky mocks prosecution over flight risk argument, recalling Kravchenko’s escape

At the latest court hearing, Ukrainian businessman Ihor Kolomoisky publicly mocked the prosecution’s argument about the risk of flight as grounds for detention, hinting at the escape abroad of former Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko.

The threat that a suspect might go into hiding or leave Ukraine is one of the most common justifications prosecutors use when petitioning for a remand in custody. It was precisely this argument that Kolomoisky called inappropriate, stating that “questions about fleeing from the prosecution, in its current form, sound at the very least laughable.”

“In my time, during this case, this is already the third prosecutor general, and there were also a couple of acting ones along the way. So when the prosecution talks about someone fleeing, I would like to ask: where are the previous four prosecutors general (they are all abroad — Ed.)? Especially where is the last one? Is he on Ukrainian territory? So who fled? We don’t know how life will turn out, but I have no intention of fleeing anywhere. Let’s hope the prosecution doesn’t all flee together — either to Lviv, like in ’22, or even further,” — Kolomoisky said.

The businessman also confirmed that he holds Israeli citizenship, although his Israeli passport has already expired. In parallel, court proceedings are ongoing regarding the revocation of his Ukrainian citizenship by presidential decree.

Earlier, in August, the case against Ihor Kolomoisky concerning the seizure of approximately €181.1 million from PrivatBank was referred to court.