News - Middle East: Ukrainian oligarch Igor Kolomoisky, a close ally of President Volodymyr Zelensky whose support is widely believed to have helped the former actor secure the country’s presidency, has been arrested over money laundering charges.

Kolomoisky was handed over to Kiev’s Shevchenko district court on Saturday after the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) accused him of illegally transferring approximately 500 million Ukrainian hryvnia (€12.5mn) through the “infrastructure of banking institutions controlled by him.”
“It was established that during 2013-2020, Ihor Kolomoisky legalized more than half a billion hryvnias by withdrawing them abroad and using the infrastructure of banks under [his] control,” SBU, which is controlled by Zelensky’s office, said in a statement.