You're reading: ​Akhmetov accused of ‘blackmailing the state’ by staging Kyiv miner strike

A former investigative journalist serving as a pro-presidential lawmaker has accused the country’s richest oligarch, Rinat Akhmetov, of trying to thwart a broadening and reform-minded “de-oligarchization” campaign by the government and “stop any actions to reform the electricity sector and preserve [his] status-quo as a monopolist” by staging this week’s coal miner protests in Kyiv.

The allegation was made in an April 24 blog posting by Mustafa Nayem on the respected Ukrainska Pravda news site where he used to work as a journalist.

Titled “Rinat Akhmetov is blackmailing the state,” Nayem in the blog upheld his claim by posting what he described as a leaked document entitled “Fortress.”

Allegedly produced by Akhmetov’s DTEK energy holding, it details plans of a broad campaign to discredit officials currently planning to undermine the company’s dominant position through government decisions aimed at boosting competitiveness, including monopoly-busting initiatives and challenging past uncompetitive privatizations.

Most of the events listed in the plan are scheduled for January-August. They include coal miner strikes, building criticism of the government with the help of local media and lobbying the group’s interest through meetings with ambassadors.

DTEK has steadfastly denied authoring the document and organizing the April 22 protests during which hundreds of miners rallied in front of the Verkhovna Rada, Presidential Administration and Cabinet of Minister’s building, and at the Energy Ministry. One of their loudest demands was the resignation of Energy Minister Volodymyr Demchyshyn.

The miners, some who openly identified themselves as being from DTEK-owned mines, accused Demchyshyn, himself considered close to the camp of President Petro Poroshenko, of hurting domestic producers by importing electricity and threatening closure for some of the country’s more than 100 mines, which he claims are not viable from a business standpoint.

In a statement, DTEK complained it was increasingly facing economic and political pressure. The company also described the allegations as an attempt to divert public attention from poor management of Ukraine’s energy sector.

Pro-government lawmakers say the so-called “de-oligarchization” campaign, which shifted into higher gear in past weeks as officials and lawmakers reigned in the influence and alleged rent seeking arrangements by oligarchs Ihor Kolomoisky and later Dmytro Firtash, has now shifted towards Akhmetov.

The coal miner protests were viewed by many analysts as the latest attempt by oligarch groups, in this case Akhmetov, to resist attempts to bust their alleged choking control over Ukraine’s economy and politics.

“We need to be ready for another wave of pressure (that Akhmetov will start), including media scandals as he will try to confront his potential opponents in the government,” political analyst Taras Berezovets said.

But concern has also been voiced in some circles whether the process
can be handled fairly given that Poroshenko is himself an oligarch. Experts
have warned that the process must not amount to a redistribution of assets in
which oligarchs in favor under Ukraine’s pro-western leadership merely squeeze
assets and influence out of the hands of those who were more powerful under Moscow-backed Viktor Yanukovych, the ousted former president.