Ukraine oligarch’s secret money pipeline to America
Between 2008 and 2015, Ihor Kolomoisky and his partners allegedly embezzled at least $750 million from a Ukraine bank — and then moved the money through a litany of bank accounts of companies set up in Cyprus and the Virgin Islands before transferring the funds into the United States through Deutsche Bank USA. Approximately $526.6 million was then transferred to Delaware companies controlled by Kolomoisky and his associates, where most of it was used to buy 18 properties, including nine steel factories, five skyscrapers (four in Cleveland, one in Louisville, Ky.), two office parks (both in Dallas) and a shuttered Motorola factory northwest of Chicago.
A CHRONOLOGY OF MONEY TRANSFERS THAT CREATED A U.S. REAL ESTATE EMPIRE MARCH 2011
APRIL 29 AND 30, 2008 $36.1 million
One Cleveland Center
• 31-story office tower
• 1375 E. 9th St., downtown Cleveland, Ohio
MAY 23, 2008
$7.6 million Stemmons Towers
• Office park
• 2720 N. Stemmons Fwy., Dallas, Texas
MAY 23, 2008
$6 million
Michigan Seamless Tube • Steel factory
• 400 Mcmunn St., South Lyon, Mich.
JUNE 27, 2008
$74.5 million Michigan Seamless Tube • Steel factory
• 400 Mcmunn St., South Lyon, Mich.
JULY 29, 2008
$12.9 million
55 Public Square
• 22-story office tower • 55 Public Square, Cleveland, Ohio
AUGUST 2008 $16.5 million
Motorola plant
• Shuttered 1.5 million square foot manufacturing center, with 500-seat auditorium and two heliports
• 2001 N. Division St., Harvard, Ill.
JUNE 2010
$20 million
Huntington Building
• Money went toward purchase of the 21-story historic office building • 925 Euclid Ave., Cleveland, Ohio
DEC. 22, 2010 $15.2 million
Compucom World Headquarters office park • 7171 Forest Lane, Dallas, Texas
FEB. 2011 $25 million
Optima E-Commerce
• Optima E-Commerce LLC is a Delaware LLC established on Dec. 10, 2010 (two months before the money was funnelled to the shell company)
• No online profile
FEBRUARY 2011 $1.2 million
Optima Acquisitions
• A Delaware limited liability company owned in thirds by oligarchs Ihor Kolomoisky and Gennadiy Bogolyubov and top U.S. partner Mordechai Korf $188.1 million CC Metals and Alloys • Steel plant
• Calvert City, Ky.
AUGUST 2011
$22.5 million
Aecom Building
• 21-story office building
• 1300 E. 9th St., Cleveland, Ohio
SEPTEMBER 2011
$15.6 million
Crowne Plaza Hotel and PNC Plaza • For October 7, 2011, acquisition of 472-room hotel in downtown Cleveland (now a four-star Westin) and parking garage at 777 St. Clair Ave. NE
• Sept. 21, 2011, acquisition of PNC Plaza building, 31-story office tower in downtown Louisville, Ky. (500 W. Jefferson St.)
DECEMBER 2011
$58 million
Niagara LaSalle
• Took ownership of the following steel plants:
• Hammond, Ind.
• Buffalo, N.Y.
• Midlothian, Texas
• Warren, Mich.
• South Holland, Ill.
• Griffith, Ind.
FEBRUARY 2013
$20 million
KES Acquisitions
• 450,000-square-foot steel factory
• 2704 S. Big Run Road, Ashland, Ky.
AUGUST AND SEPTEMBER, 2013
$2.4 million
Crowne Plaza renovation financing
• Money went toward the renovation of the hotel into a four-star Westin
• Cleveland, Ohio
DECEMBER 2013 $5 million
Optima Ventures
• Was the primary vehicle through which Ihor Kolomoisky and his associates acquired commercial real estate in the United States
• Optima Ventures became the largest holder of commercial real estate in Cleveland, Ohio, through various affiliated Delaware entities.
Note: Due to the difficulties of tracing the sources, distribution and amounts of money being laundered, the totals are sometimes approximated and will not always add up precisely. Sources: U.S. Department of Justice civil forfeiture action, 2020 PrivatBank lawsuit in Delaware state court, Kroll forensic audit