Laundering of money by Ukrainian in Ohio alleged

CLEVELAND — A raid by FBI and IRS agents this week was in search of evidence that Ukrainian oligarch Igor Kolomoisky laundered millions of dollars through Cleveland real estate.

A long-running investigation into Kolomoisky was publicly acknowledged for the first time when agents searched the offices of Optima Management Group in One Cleveland Center downtown. Agents in Miami searched a business there involving the company.

Authorities in Cleveland had told The Plain Dealer and Cleveland.com last year that authorities have been involved in a wide-ranging investigation involving Kolomoisky, whom one analyst called one of Ukraine’s most controversial figures.

Kolomoisky is a principal of the Privat Group, a large Ukrainian business. Principals of the company are also part of Optima. In a lawsuit filed last year in Delaware, Kolomoisky was accused of laundering hundreds of millions of dollars through real estate holdings in the United States, including in Cleveland.

FBI agent Vicki Anderson and IRS agent Craig Casserly declined to discuss the case.

Kolomoisky’s attorney Michael Sullivan declined to discuss the raids.

Last year, Kolomoisky refused to set up a meeting with President Trump’s ally, Rudy Giuliani, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in an attempt to find political dirt on Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden.

Joel Samuels, a law professor at the University of South Carolina who has focused on international law, said the FBI and IRS investigation underscores the aggressive approach that federal authorities have taken involving examinations into possible money laundering.

“The government has been far more vigilant in going after funds than it was 20 years ago, from the former Soviet Union and other countries around the world,” Samuels said.