The censor notes, using data from the ministry’s records, that the State Migration Service of Ukraine has determined the passport of Ukrainian businessman Igor Kolomoisky to be invalid.
Media outlets report that Kolomoisky’s passport details appear in the archive minutes of the Privatbank shareholders’ meeting. When attempting to verify in the department’s database, the system returns a message stating the document is invalid.
One day earlier, on July 24, Kolomoisky’s passport was listed as valid, according to a source cited by the Ukrainian edition of Forbes.
Citizenship deprivation in Ukraine occurs in cases of voluntary acquisition of another country’s citizenship, fraud in acquiring Ukrainian citizenship, voluntary entry into the country, or military service for another state, under the Law of Ukraine “On Citizenship.”
In addition to Ukrainian citizenship, Kolomoisky also holds Cypriot and Israeli passports. He explained why he believes there is no violation: “The law bans dual citizenship, but it does not prohibit triple citizenship.”
Forbes Ukraine estimates Kolomoisky’s fortune at about $1.8 billion.
Who else faced passport issues
On July 20, Ukrainska Pravda, citing unnamed sources, reported that Kolomoisky could lose Ukrainian citizenship, alongside several political figures connected to opposition groups. Those named included Rabinovich, a co-chair of the For Life party, which Ukraine banned in March 2022, and Gennady Korban, tied to the Territorial Defense of Dnepropetrovsk. A circulating image claimed that President Volodymyr Zelensky had issued a decree listing those deprived of citizenship, including Kolomoisky. The document itself was not signed by the head of state, and a deputy in the Ukrainian parliament, Yaroslav Zheleznyak, commented on the image.
“The most puzzling part is the date shown on the screen as July 18. We were preparing for a vote in the Rada on July 18 and 19, and the letter lists two deputies. Anything remains possible, but the inconsistency looks odd,” said the deputy.
Igor Vasilkovsky, a deputy from the Servant of the People party, dismissed the idea that Zelensky signed such a document.
However, on July 22, Gennady Korban said he tried to enter Ukraine from Poland, but border guards confiscated his Ukrainian passport and denied entry. Korban stated that he could not enter with a military ID or the Diya app, a local public services tool.
“I can’t enter with any documents: neither a military ID nor a Staple. I’m effectively stuck at the border area. Lawyers are working on when I might return to Poland,” the lawyer explained.
The border authorities issued a statement saying Korban was stateless, referencing a presidential decree ending his citizenship. No official documents have been published to support this claim.
“That topic has been discussed, but the decision has not been made yet,” a source close to the Servant of the People leadership told Forbes.
Grounds for naturalization
On July 20, Rada deputy Alexei Goncharenko announced that his former colleague Yevgeny Muraev and Vadim Rabinovich would likely face treason charges.
It is known that on the second day after the start of the military operation, Muraev posted on social networks suggesting Ukraine should surrender to Russia, a post he later deleted. In January 2022, the British Foreign Office stated that Moscow was seeking to influence Ukrainian politics, with references to Muraev.
In early July, a draft law on depriving citizenship for treason was presented to the Verkhovna Rada. The proposal, titled “On Amending Article 111 of the Ukrainian Criminal Code on the deprivation of Ukrainian citizenship for treason,” was introduced by Serhiy Kuzminykh of the Servant of the People party. In addition, the Rada proposed that those responsible for military service who leave the country and do not return within 30 days should lose Ukrainian citizenship. None of these measures have been enacted yet.