By Burc Eruygur
ISTANBUL (AA) - Ukraine on Tuesday said it nationalized assets belonging to a Russian oligarch worth $13.2 million.
The State Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) said in a statement that all of Eduard Khudainatov's shares in the Alliance-Ukraine Oil Company LLC, which it said is estimated at almost 500 million Ukrainian hryvnias, was directed to Ukraine’s income.
It said the investigation found Khudainatov controlled the company through “a number of offshore companies and controlled persons.”
“In this way, he hoped to avoid the nationalization of this asset after the full-scale invasion of the Russian Federation, while continuing to receive significant profits from the oil and gas market of Ukraine,” it added. Russia launched its "special military operation" in Ukraine in February 2022.
“The investigation also established that Khudainatov is one of (Russian President Vladimir) Putin's confidants, heads the Russian oil and gas company NNK-Group and was a member of the board of directors of Rosneft,” the SBU said.