Financial Times: Ukraine’s Firtash adds to his empire

Roman Olearchyk writes: Dmytro Firtash, the Ukrainian billionaire, has splashed out $400 million for a controlling 90 per cent stake in Nadra, one of Ukraine’s most troubled banks.

The acquisition was announced by Nadra on May 4 and symbolizes the renewed strength and cash-rich position of Firtash one year into the presidency of Viktor Yanukovych, with whom he has close relations.

Firtash’s lucrative gas trading ventures and other businesses were nearly destroyed under Yulia Tymoshenko, Ukraine’s prime minister from late 2007 into early 2010. Now an opposition politician facing prosecutorial probes, she continues to accuse him of non-transparent dealings, charges he denies.

Now, just over a year after Yanukovych beat Tymoshenko in a presidential contest, Firtash appears more powerful than ever. He is back in the mix of lucrative gas trading dealings; he has added three factories to his mushrooming chemical business; he is eyeing agriculture investments and partnerships; and now he has a bank to add to his increasingly impressive collection of assets that reach from Tajikistan into Europe.


But many questions still hang over what went wrong at Nadra and why Firtash – long seen as a potential bailout investor – would be interested in such a troubled bank. Click here to read full report.