The Supreme Court upheld the legality of depriving Ihor Kolomoyskyi of Ukrainian citizenship

The Supreme Court upheld the legality of depriving Ihor Kolomoyskyi of Ukrainian citizenship

Ukrainian oligarch Ihor Kolomoiskyi, who is currently under investigation, has lost a court case regarding the reinstatement of his Ukrainian citizenship.

This was reported by «Glavcom» with reference to the data from the court registry.

The plaintiff challenged President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s decree from July 18, 2022, according to which Kolomoisky lost Ukrainian citizenship. The businessman supported his argument by stating that he had continuously lived in Ukraine since independence. The oligarch referred to Article 25 of the Constitution, which declares: a citizen of Ukraine cannot be deprived of Ukrainian citizenship. According to the businessman, he never expressed a desire to renounce Ukrainian citizenship.

At the same time, Ihor Kolomoiskyi admitted that he has held Israeli citizenship since 1995. According to his logic, having Israeli citizenship is not a basis for depriving him of Ukrainian citizenship, as the acquisition of citizenship in this country occurred before the adoption of the Constitution of Ukraine (the Basic Law was adopted on June 28, 1996).

Additionally, the plaintiff mentioned the law on Ukrainian citizenship in his evidence, which declares the principle of single citizenship. At the same time, Kolomoiskyi believed, multiple citizenship is not explicitly prohibited.

Furthermore, the oligarch stated that the authorities were aware of the fact of dual citizenship at least since 2014 (at that time, Acting President Oleksandr Turchynov appointed Ihor Kolomoisky as the head of Dnipropetrovsk Regional State Administration), but no measures were taken.

The plaintiff specifically drew the court’s attention to his life path and active socio-political position in the country’s life, which indicate his desire to live in Ukraine and hold Ukrainian citizenship.

The court received the president’s position, which stated that by issuing the disputed decree, the head of state exercised his constitutional powers in accordance with and on the basis of Ukrainian legislation.

«If the plaintiff intended to retain Ukrainian citizenship, he should have taken measures to terminate the citizenship of the State of Israel immediately after the amendments to the Law of Ukraine ’On Citizenship of Ukraine’ in 2001. However, such measures were not taken between 2001 and 2022», the president’s response to the oligarch’s lawsuit stated.

As the Supreme Court found, the reason for Ihor Kolomoiskyi’s loss of Ukrainian citizenship was the response from the Ministry of Public Security and the Police of the State of Israel dated July 14, 2022, to a request from the Security Service of Ukraine. It confirmed the fact of the Israeli citizenship of the Ukrainian oligarch. Subsequently, the authorities prepared the relevant documents, which were sent for consideration to the Presidential Commission of Ukraine on Citizenship Matters. On July 18, 2022, the Commission proposed to Volodymyr Zelenskyy to make a decision on the termination of Ihor Kolomoiskyi’s Ukrainian citizenship, which was ultimately implemented.

«The plaintiff had the opportunity to avoid the initiation of the procedure for losing Ukrainian citizenship for 25 years, which is more than sufficient time... (At the same time – «Glavcom») ...by continuing to maintain Ukrainian citizenship while simultaneously holding the citizenship of another state, which was acquired voluntarily in adulthood, the plaintiff had to realize that with the introduction of corresponding legal consequences at the legislative level, the procedure for losing Ukrainian citizenship might be applied to him», the Supreme Court’s decision stated.

The court also evaluated one of Kolomoiskyi’s actions in 1998. At that time, the businessman applied for the issuance/replacement of a Ukrainian passport. In section 7, in response to the question, «have you previously held a foreign citizenship (subjectship) and been admitted to Ukrainian citizenship», he did not indicate the concurrent possession of Israeli citizenship. On the contrary, the plaintiff stated «did not hold, citizen of Ukraine».

«...if the plaintiff intended to maintain the legal connection between him and Ukraine, he had to take measures to terminate the citizenship of another state, which he acquired voluntarily in adulthood», the court emphasized.

Moreover, the court dismissed Kolomoiskyi’s reference to the decision of the Shevchenkivskyi District Court of Kyiv from September 2, 2023, where he was identified as a citizen of Ukraine. It’s worth noting that this capital’s court in September 2023 confirmed Kolomoisky’s Israeli citizenship.

In summary, the Supreme Court confirmed the legality of the president’s decree on the loss of Ihor Kolomoisky’s Ukrainian citizenship.

It became known that in November 2024, Cyprus revoked Ihor Kolomoiskyi’s citizenship and that of more than 70 others with «golden passports», including Russian and Ukrainian businessmen and their relatives.