Effective as of 15 February 2025, the Ukrainian President has enacted the decision of the National Security and Defense Council concerning the introduction of a set of personal sanctions against certain businesspeople and politicians (“Decision on Sanctions”).[1] The sanctions are targeting Ukrainian oligarchs, particularly former cofounders of PrivatBank Ihor Kolomoisky and Hennadii Boholiubov, former owner of Finance and Credit Bank Kostiantyn Zhevago, former President and acting MP Petro Poroshenko and former pro-Russian politician Viktor Medvedchuk (“Sanctioned Persons”).
The Decision on Sanctions provides that the Sanctioned Persons will be subject to extensive restrictive measures for an indefinite period of time. The restrictive measures, inter alia, include the following:
- Asset freeze, meaning temporary deprivation of the right to use and dispose of assets that the Sanctioned Persons own or assets in respect of which they have the ability to take, directly or indirectly (through other individuals), actions that are in the nature of disposition of assets
- Restrictions on trade (trade prohibition)
- Suspension of the fulfillment of economic or financial obligations
- Prohibition on public and defense procurement of goods, works and services from foreign state-owned legal entities and legal entities with foreign state shareholdings, as well as public and defense procurement from other business entities engaged in the sale of goods, works and services originating from a foreign state that is subject to sanctions under the Sanctions Law
- Termination of trade agreements, joint projects and industrial programs in certain areas, including the security and defense area
- Prohibition on capital withdrawal outside Ukraine
- Prohibition on increasing the share capital of business entities or enterprises in which a foreign person, a foreign state or a legal entity, the participant of which is a foreign person or foreign state, holds at least 10% of the shares (charter capital) or exercises influence over the management of the legal entity or its activities
- Full prohibition on transit of resources, flights or transportation across the territory of Ukraine
- Prohibition on participating in the privatization and lease of state-owned property by foreign persons or persons directly or indirectly controlled by foreign persons or acting in the interests of foreign persons
- Prohibition on acquiring land
- Ban on securities transactions
- Ban on paying dividends or making other payments relating to corporate rights
The full set of sanctions applicable to each of the Sanctioned Persons is set forth in the annex to the Decision on Sanctions.
Notably, the Sanctioned Persons used to be the beneficial owners of various businesses. We recommend that any party dealing with the Sanctioned Persons carefully assess the exact scope of the sanctions imposed and the implications of dealing with such individuals and legal entities partially or fully owned or controlled by them.
[1] Presidential Decree No. 81/2025 dated 12 February 2025 “On the Decision of the National Security and Defense Council dated 12 February 2025 ‘On Imposing of Personal Special Economic and other Restrictive Measures (Sanctions),'” effective from 15 February 2025.
