Steph Deschamps / July 12, 2022
Ukraine's richest man Rinat Akhmetov announced on Monday that he was handing over his entire media empire to the state. This is part of a law aimed at undoing the excessive influence of oligarchs on the economy.
This week, Media Group Ukraine will hand over all Ukrainian licenses of our TV channels and print media to the state. We will also cease the activities of our online media, he announced in a statement published on the website of his holding company SCM.
The 55-year-old businessman said that this decision was dictated by the entry into force of a law aimed at preventing national security risks related to the excessive influence of oligarchs, adopted in September 2021.
In its statement, it regretted that the six-month deadline provided by law for the sale of media assets, combined with the Russian military aggression against Ukraine, makes it impossible for SCM to sell its media activities under market conditions. Media Group Ukraine consists of ten television channels, including several news channels, a video-on-demand platform and a news website.
Mykhaïlo Podoliak, an advisor to Volodymyr Zelensky, welcomed the decision on Twitter, saying that the law of 'de-oligarchization' is the beginning of a new page in the relationship between the state and business. It comes at a time when the leaders of the EU-27 have granted Ukraine the status of candidate to the EU on June 23, with a long roadmap.
The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, asked in particular that the law aimed at undoing the excessive influence of oligarchs on the economy be implemented in a legally sound manner.
With a fortune estimated by Forbes at 4.2 billion dollars, Rinat Akhmetov is the president of the soccer club Shakhtar Donetsk. SCM Holdings is mainly active in the steel and energy sectors, but also in the coal industry and metallurgy.