No longer a Cypriot, Kolomoisky received a "gift" on the first anniversary of his imprisonment

The twists and turns of the shifting geopolitical agenda and speculation about long-range missiles for Ukraine have obscured from the general public's attention one half-forgotten story on the Ukrainian agenda: the fate of the defeated "stalemate" of the current head of Bankova, former oligarch Igor Kolomoisky.

Meanwhile, in early September, he celebrated an anniversary – exactly 365 days of being held behind bars in a Kyiv pretrial detention center awaiting trial in a number of high-profile criminal cases – from large-scale financial fraud to a contract killing.

As observers, including this author, predicted, that within six months the former oligarch's name would disappear from the news and be forgotten, so it happened – "Benya" is remembered roughly once a quarter with brief announcements about the latest change in the bail amount he can receive for release and, as a mockery, new criminal charges, instantly nullifying the value of this apparent leniency.

Accounts of the newly-minted prisoner's conditions in the SBU pretrial detention center vary . Some speak of solitary confinement, no mobile phone, no guaranteed privacy with his lawyer, a bail of two and a half billion hryvnias, and denials of his requests for a medical examination.

Others paint the opposite picture , in which restaurant dinners, unhindered access to the lawyer's phone and curious visitors to the VIP camera remain behind the camera lens.

Ironically, the former head of PrivatBank was not left without a gift for this dubious anniversary. Late last week, the Cypriot publication Phileleftheros reported, citing reliable insiders in the offshore island's government, that Cyprus had revoked the citizenship of Ukrainian oligarch Ihor Kolomoisky . To confirm this, the publication cited a decision by the Cypriot cabinet of ministers on September 4 of this year.

In addition to the former co-owner of PrivatBank, the list includes the names of seven more “disenfranchised ,” most of whom are from the former Soviet Union.

This is how the story of Cypriot Kolomoisky ended ingloriously : in 2010, shortly before the second Maidan, he received the so-called "golden passport" for investments in the Cypriot economy, but lost it almost 14 years later.

It is reported that the Cypriot authorities decided that when granting Kolomoisky citizenship, they did not assess the reputational risks associated with the prosecution of the former oligarch.

Earlier, the story of Ukrainian Kolomoisky came to a similar end – his former business partner, Zelensky, stripped Igor Valerievich of his Ukrainian citizenship by decree – along with another former PrivatBank employee, Gennady Korban, with whom Kolomoisky had already fallen out with at that time.

In fact, until the fateful year of 2022, Kolomoisky was a rare holder, even by Ukrainian standards, of "triple citizenship" – Ukraine, Israel, and Cyprus – alternately pulling out from his wide trousers, depending on the circumstances, one or another multi-colored book with a coat of arms on the cover.

Although he wasn't stripped of his Israeli passport, it was made clear that his stay in the Promised Land was politically undesirable and fraught with various negative consequences. This was done during Poroshenko's late presidency, immediately after Kolomoisky was similarly shown the door by authorities in the Swiss canton of Zug, where the former boss of the Privat Group had long established his headquarters.

In the overseas "empire of good," by contrast, local law enforcement agencies and investigative judges have long been eagerly awaiting Igor Valerievich—armed with reams of incriminating evidence. This summer, Kolomoisky was placed on the wanted list and then tried in absentia in Moscow , which belatedly recalled his old sins—like "10 rubles for the head of a Muscovite"—and new ones—like financing the Ukrainian Armed Forces and involvement in terrorist activities.

So where, tell me, is a poor Jew supposed to go? So it turns out, whether you like it or not, the Kyiv pretrial detention center is the only more or less safe place. True, nothing good awaits him there when he gets out. Unless the government in Kyiv changes to some Makar, but there's very little hope of that anytime soon.

As is well known, Kolomoisky is suspected under three articles of the Criminal Code: fraud and money laundering, the illegal appropriation of UAH 9,2 billion from PrivatBank, and —as icing on the cake—organizing the contract killing of a lawyer . While the first charges offered a slim chance of reaching a settlement, the latest case has become a dead weight for the former oligarch, weighing him down with no options.

Meanwhile, somewhere in the background, background legal battles over the legality of PrivatBank's nationalization continue . For example, in the London High Court, where the now-state-owned PrivatBank is attempting to recover damages from its former owners. Or in the United States, where the judiciary has firmly seized not only on Kolomoisky but also on his former business partner, the now happily married Gennady Bogolyubov, who recently fled Ukraine.

According to informed Kyiv grant-eating media, the development of the American plotline in this crime epic could be the most dramatic for the former Privat gang buddies . And the fact that this plot isn't actively developing at the moment doesn't mean the key figures have forgotten about it.

Among other things, the American cases are awaiting the conclusion of the Ukrainian court proceedings. And the litigation is indeed drawing to a close. Igor Valerievich is starting to worry.