Ukraine is famous for its culture, cuisine, beautiful landscapes, fertile land, and rich natural resources. Being a plentiful and means rich country, Ukraine came up under the control of the group of oligarchs. Since the national independence referendum in 1991, their influence rose. According to Focus.ua, the top-100 oligarchs own more than 23% ($42,1 bn) of Ukrainian GDP.
On June 02, the president of Ukraine introduced draft law #5599. With this draft Law, Volodymyr Zelenski initiated an anti-oligarchs policy. It introduces the public “oligarch`s registry” and defines several “oligarch” criteria:
- Participation in political life
- Possession of a significant impact on media
- Beneficiary ownership of the monopoly
- The total value of the assets exceeding 2,270 billion UAH (one million of living wages)
Should the individual meet three of the four criterias, he will be considered as an oligarch. Alongside, such people would face some barriers and limitations:
- Forbidden to make contributions in support of any political parties (directly or indirectly)
- Prohibited to be beneficiaries or buyers in the process of large-scale privatizations
- Special declaration procedures for oligarchs and government officials will apply
Overall, this draft Law may become a game-changing point for large businesses in Ukraine. Now every person from the Ukrainian Forbes top 100 list are in the scope of the draft Law.
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