Huge Bentley registered in Ukraine on the Place du Casino, Ukrainian megayacht flying the flag in Beaulieu, luxury and overprotected villa in Saint-Jean… a hundred Ukrainians, VIP refugees, fled the war against Russia to reach the Côte d’ Azure.
Despite the general mobilization of all able-bodied men aged 16 to 60 decreed by Volodymyr Zelensky, they live the high life as fighting still rages in Ukraine.
Nice-Matin tells you the story of the oligarchs of the “Monaco battalion”, as the name of the Ukrainian FBI, which opened an investigation into these VIP exiles. A series also to be found in our file.
“Russia’s decision to invade Ukraine has led to an unprecedented national crisis, and we condemn the military attacks Ukraine is currently facing”. This is the message displayed in large on the Ferrexpo website. This giant of the mining and iron industry even writes that it has opened an emergency fund to “support the war effort”.
A yacht called “Z” in Monaco
If this company which employs more than 10,000 people in Ukraine seems turned upside down by the war, it is far from being the case of its majority shareholder. While the fighting rages in his country, Kostyantin Zhevago is quietly … in Monaco. All summer, his yacht called “Z” – a name that resonates strangely since the letter symbolizes support for Russia – sailed between the Principality, Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat and Antibes. Its owner was well on board. A Ukrainian journalist even filmed him on the pontoon of his 65-meter boat returning from a shopping session with Madame, his arms laden with Chanel bags.
However, Jévago did not flee the war in Ukraine at the same time as his comrades from the “Monaco battalion”.
He would actually be in Monegasque territory since … 2019. And it was not the charms of the Riviera that brought him to us. Ukraine’s 4th largest fortune has fled his country to avoid another battle… this time in court.
He is indeed suspected in a case of embezzlement of 113 million dollars and money laundering.
Ukraine requests the extradition of its son to Monaco
An arrest warrant would have been issued by Interpol, according to the Ukrainian Investigation Bureau, before being revoked by the Ukrainian justice and then issued again in 2021.
The businessman’s press service denied these accusations: Kostyantyn Zhevago is said to be abroad because of “personal and medical circumstances”a “good reason to be abroad in accordance with current Ukrainian legislation” and he would never have been the subject of the said warrant.
Still, the SBU – the Ukrainian FBI – does not give up. To the point of issuing an extradition request during the summer. The first aimed at a fugitive Ukrainian oligarch.
Europe’s youngest billionaire
First, it fits well with the personality of Kostyantyn Zhevago. This man in a hurry is always aiming for first place. Self-made-man with Ukrainian sauce, Kostyantyn Zhevago is the prototype of the man who started from nothing and climbed the ladder of the wealth of power. Entered as financial director of a prestigious Ukrainian bank after studying finance, he will take control only 5 years later. Everything is linked very quickly then, for this madman of speed. At 35, he becomes the youngest billionaire in Europe, buys up several criminal companies and introduces a Ukrainian company on the stock market for the first time.
Elected deputy in 1998, a position he held until 2019, he bought a small football club and succeeded in winning the Ukrainian Cup, ending up as the hegemony of the two flagship clubs Dynamo kyiv and Shaktar Donetsk, belonging both to other members of the Monaco Battalion.
“He will one day be caught by justice”
Zhévago likes everything that shines. For example, he offers himself a unique edition of Ferrari’s LaFerrari prototype. The fastest car in the world is also one of the most expensive: 1.3 million euros. He will stick a Ukrainian flag on the door. He will never be able to use it on the road, the racing car not being homologated…
But by dint of wanting to go too fast, he will end up burning his wings. “He tends to confuse public and private money, confides an adviser to the Minister of the Interior. He wanted to continue doing business alongside his political activities, which is prohibited by Ukrainian law. He will one day be caught by justice.”