For the first time after his arrest in France, businessman Konstantin Zhevago publicly commented on the criminal proceedings, according to which the State Bureau of Investigation is trying to extradite him to Ukraine. In an interview he gave to someone related to his family Espresso TV channel On January 11, Zhevago stated that this case has a political basis.
The businessman suggested that the criminal prosecution may be related to the de-oligarchization program, which the Office of the President is “trying to sell to Ukrainians and voters.”
“This is very beneficial to the Office of the President, which distributes commands to both the SBI and the Prosecutor’s Office, and which has influence on the Pechersk Court. I see PR interest in all this in the President’s Office. In addition, as far as I know, there is an interest in some of my assets in Ukraine, which are being seized by the same Pechersk and other courts at the request of the DBR. There are interested persons who want to remove my property in Ukraine,” Zhevago said.
He did not specify who exactly he suspects.
“They called me an oligarch, although I am not an oligarch. I am a big, well-known and successful entrepreneur,” complained Zhevago.
He added that he is ready to give evidence to the State Bureau of Investigation on the territory of France and is interested in the fact that the case goes to court as soon as possible or is closed.
What is happening around him brings “a lot of PR negativity, a lot of business negativity, because people don’t understand within the scope of this case whether I am guilty or not,” Zhevago said.
The businessman also predicted that the court proceedings on his extradition will not be quick and will drag on for several months.
Espresso TV channel (Goldberry LLC) is owned by the Astra Finance company, 22.5% of which is owned by Larisa Knyazhytska (wife of Eurosolidarity MP Mykola Knyazhytsky), and 77.5% by Ivan Zhevago (son of businessman Konstantin Zhevago).
