State Bureau of Investigation agents requested that French authorities detain former deputy and shareholder of JSC “Bank “Finance and Credit” bank Konstantin Zhevago in the posh ski town of Courchevel.
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Forbes claims Konstantin Zhevago is the youngest self-made billionaire in the history of Ukraine. With $1.8 billion, he ranked 719th on Forbes’ 2012 list of the world’s billionaires, published in March.
Months of cooperation between French and Ukrainian law enforcement led to the oligarch’s arrest. Zhevago, formerly the head of the Ukrainian “Finances and Credit” organization, is being investigated for “organizing a mechanism for the embezzlement” of $113.5 million.
Staff at the Bureau worked closely with the Prosecutor General’s Office to carry out the court’s order to hold the accused.
Investigators from the SBI have prepared a request to have the former deputy of the People’s Republic arrested pending the submission of an extradition request from any of the 38 nations that have expressed interest in having him returned to their jurisdiction. Members of the French Republic’s gendarmerie, police, and judicial system worked closely together for months.
Therefore, the criminal police of the French Republic apprehended a shareholder of JSC Bank “Finance and Credit” on December 27 in one of the hotels in Courchevel based on information acquired from the inquiry.
The Detention of Konstantin Zhevago
The detainee tried to protest the legitimacy of their detention but ultimately consented to depart with representatives from the French authorities who were in charge of their case. The Chambery court has scheduled the extradition arrest of Konstantin Zhevago. His extradition from the French Republic to Ukraine is currently pending the completion of the required paperwork.
The SBI detectives were able to apprehend Kostyantyn Zhevago in Courchevel on January 1st at their request. Speaking on a Ukrainian telethon on Wednesday, SBI communications adviser Tetyana Sapyan said, “You know that he is involved in several criminal proceedings in the SBI, and now they are preparing documents for extradition.”
Konstantin Zhevago was informed, along with several other top bank executives, that criminal offences under Articles 273, 1915, and 2093 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine were suspected. They devised a plan to steal $113 million from a bank, hurting both the state and its citizens as depositors.
All assets belonging to the alleged oligarch and any companies connected to him have been frozen. Specifically, he has 26 pieces of real estate and corporate rights to companies worth hundreds of millions of hryvnias. The assets of other companies owned by the ex-deputy were also seized. This has a total of 30 retail stores, 10 apartment buildings, and 10 single-family homes.
The National Agency for Identification, Search, and Asset Management (ARMA) received more than 300 million hryvnias in confiscated assets in October 2020.