Oleksandr Yanukovych

Yanukovych graduated from the Donetsk National University as a dentist[1] but since 2006 he leads a company named Management Assets Company (MAKO).[2] MAKO owns construction companies that built business centres and shopping malls in Donetsk, a hotel in Balaklava (Crimea) and some banks.[2] Various Ukrainian press have suggested people close to Oleksandr have landed some of Ukraine's most important positions including top government positions.[2][5][6][7][8] His father Viktor Yanukovych, through his press service, has denied that he appoints individuals to top government positions based on their personal loyalty and closeness to his family rather than qualifications.[9] Also Yanukovych's organization is alleged of performing over 70 so called "raid seizures" - when with a help of corrupt government officials - a certain organization seizes a property (usually a small business) under a fabricated justification.[10](in Ukrainian)

Yanukovych's MAKO Group of companies (majority shareholder, Oleksandr Yanukovych) was assessed by the auditor PricewaterhouseCoopers as having $212 million in assets in 2011, grossing $663,000 from sales.[11] In March 2012 Yanukovych's net worth was estimated to be at least $130 million by Kyiv Post.[2] In 2011, MAKO consisted of 16 enterprises located in Ukraine, Switzerland and the Netherlands, and employed 700 people.[11] MAKO Group is primarily involved in property development and construction, banking, and the export of high-grade coal.[11] MAKO started to grow heavily since 2010.[11] Before 2013 the company had denied it had bid for government public procurement contracts, taking part in government privatizations of state assets, or being involved in the extraction of natural resources.[11] In November 2012 Forbes Ukraine reported that companies linked to (Oleksandr) Yanukovych in 2012 at no cost had taken over majority stakes worth an estimated $10 million in five coal enrichment plants from the state.[11][12] This had been denied by Yanukovych; he claimed it was Black PR aimed against his father.[11] As of February 2013, Forbes Ukraine claims (Oleksandr) Yanukovych earned more in Ukrainian public procurement contracts than any other businessmen since the beginning of 2012.[13] Forbes.ua reported in February 2014 that in January 2014, for example, his businesses won 50% of all state tenders.[14]

In early 2014, his personal assets were claimed to be over $500 million.[15]

The Ukrainian Bank of Development was founded in 1995 and controlled by Valentyna Arbuzova. Reports allege that since 2011, Yanukovych purchased stock in the bank to achieve 100% ownership.

In 2014, investigations by anti-corruption organizations into the bank and potential bribery charges against Yanukovych were launched. These included an order to freeze Swiss assets of both Yanukovych and former acting prime minister Serhiy Arbuzov (son of UBD president).[16][17][18]

Also in 2017, a Kyiv court rejected a lawsuit by Yanukovych to recover up to UAH 1,6 billion in damages from the National bank of Ukraine after it delisted the UBD following sanctions applied by the European Union.[19]

In 2016, Oleksandr Yanukovych and his father sought the annulment of their assets in sanction measures adopted by the EU in 2014, stating that the evidence presented was not factual.[20] In 2015, Viktor Yanukovych was placed on Interpol's 'Wanted List'. Ukrainian Interior Minister Arsen Avakov confirmed that a warrant was also issued for Oleksandr.[21] In 2017, however, Interpol removed all data on the pair, and confirmed that Oleksandr was not on the wanted list.[22]

In 2017, Swiss authorities confirmed that Oleksandr Yanukovych did not have any personal bank accounts or assets in Switzerland, apart from those owned by MAKO Trading SA.[23] In October, the ECJ (European Court of Justice) upheld sanctions against Oleksandr and his father.[24]

In March 2015, Yanukovych's younger brother was reported to have drowned after a vehicle he was travelling in fell through ice in Siberia. News reports at the time highlighted several similar deaths of people with ties to Yanukovych senior.[25]