Ukraine’s Minister of Justice, Denys Maliuska, said that billionaire Rinat Akhmetov no longer fits the definition of an oligarch, as he has left the media business, and his business partner Vadym Novinsky has completed his mandate as Peopleʼs Deputy.

He told about this during the OPORA.Live discussion.

"Mr. Novinsky was a direct link to recognize Mr. Akhmetov as an oligarch. Because they are business partners, and Mr. Novinsky, as a Member of Parliament, is a political figure. Therefore, the refusal of the mandate removed Mr. Akhmetovʼs direct connection with the parliament and removed the most obvious sign of participation in political life for Mr. Akhmetov," the minister said.

At the same time, Maliuska suggested that Akhmetov probably gave up his media not completely.

"This is my subjective opinion, I am not ready to say that it is so, but it seems that legally it is a "the foot in the door" in order not to completely close the legal mechanisms of returning to business," the minister explained.

On July 11, 2022, Rinat Akhmetov announced that he was leaving the media business. Media Group Ukraine renounced all broadcast and satellite television licenses and print media licenses in Ukraine in favor of the state.

On September 23, 2021, the Verkhovna Rada (the Ukrainian Parliament) adopted a draft law on deoligarchization. The document establishes a number of rules for those who will be included in the register of oligarchs: they will not be able to finance parties, participate in privatization, and will be required to submit an electronic declaration. All officials will have to submit a declaration of contacts if they have communication with the oligarch. If they do not submit such a declaration, they are threatened with dismissal.

An oligarch can be recognized as a person who participates in political life, has significant influence on mass media, is the beneficiary of a monopoly and has assets worth more than 1 million living wages (approximately 2.5 billion UAH).

The National Security and Defense Council has already launched a system for monitoring oligarchs.


Oksana Romaniuk, director of the Institute of Mass Information, believes that Rinat Akhmetov wants to reduce his expenses and eliminate risks for the media business.

The expert singled out three market processes that are negative for mass media for DW: "rather high financial risks, risks of excessive regulation and risks related to the war and the content of the United Telethon".

"The oligarchs have lost control over the content that they had before, they have lost a significant part of their profits, in particular from entertainment content, from almost 'frozen' advertising," comments Oksana Romaniuk. “Expenses increased, as offices were forced to relocate. For example, I know about relocation to Western Ukraine."

Also, the director of IMI reminded that the draft law "On Media" is being developed, which may be adopted in the coming weeks. It strengthens the functionality of the National Council on Television and Radio Broadcasting.

"Most likely, SCM and Akhmetov decided to reformat their media business in order to reduce their costs and solve these three key risks they faced," said Romaniuk. “I think that we will see others after them. Perhaps this is the "first swallow". We saw all these trends, but we did not expect such a drastic decision."