Another war is raging against much-besieged Ukraine, not by the military, but by oligarch criminals with long names and rap sheets to match.
Their greed has no bounds and their ultimate victims are the people of Ukraine, the rest of Europe, and even U.S. citizens.
As Ukraine fights for survival against Russian invasion, there is a hidden war without tanks or missiles—but offshore accounts, fake companies, and stolen billions. One of its key players is Pavel Fuks, a sanctioned Russian Ukrainian oligarch who has made a career out of looting nations and laundering money.
Fuks isn’t a rogue player—he’s part of a criminal triad with jailed Ukrainian-born oligarch Ihor Kolomoisky and fugitive pro-Russian ex Ukrainian ex-politician Vitaliy Khomutynnik, now on the lam from charges in Ukraine and living large in London.
Together, Fuks and Khomutynnik engineered some of Ukraine’s biggest financial heists. They’re not just looting Ukraine—they’re undermining the West, where they are parking stolen fortunes, whitewashing their reputations and exploiting weak enforcement.
In April 2023, Ukraine’s Asset Recovery and Management Agency seized major gas company shares tied to Fuks, Kolomoisky, and Khomutynnik. Investigators say this company was part of many schemes to loot state resources and move money offshore.
Khomutynnik allegedly traded his influence for illicit licenses and tax evasion. Fuks provided cash and offshore networks; Khomutynnik provided political protection; all living like royalty while Ukrainian citizens were robbed of billions.
This wasn’t just reckless post-Soviet business culture. It was a deliberate, well-oiled trans-national criminal machine designed to bleed a suffering country dry.
In May 2023, Ukraine’s Prosecutor General issued historical indictments. Fuks was indicted on charges that may total more than 2.7 billion in USD. That staggering figure makes this one of the most serious white-collar crime cases in the nation’s history.
The charges link Fuks to fraudulent acquisitions of energy firms and gas licenses through shell companies and fictitious managers. Prosecutors allege that Ukraine’s natural resource revenues—money meant for hospitals, schools, and defense—were siphoned into yachts, luxury estates, and offshore accounts.
Fuks’ mentor, Ihor Kolomoisky, perfected this playbook years earlier; he created what appears to be a blueprint for theft. The U.S. Department of Justice has accused Kolomoisky of laundering hundreds of millions through real estate deals in Cleveland and Miami. In Ukraine, he was arrested in 2023 for embezzlement and money laundering.
Not satisfied with just white collar crime, he is a suspect in the violent murder of a lawyer who refused to play along with his schemes.
Fuks has long been suspected of acting as Kolomoisky’s international fixer, funneling stolen funds through Cyprus, London, and Switzerland. Their partnership wasn’t just about money—it was about exporting corruption across borders.
Despite being in a war for its existential survival, Ukraine is bravely striking back. Assets have been frozen, shares blocked, and lawsuits filed. For the first time in decades, the kleptocrats are feeling heat from Kyiv.
In London, Pavel Fuks lives in luxurious Belgravia, untouched by red notices, indictments and sanctions. His “Gold” British investor visa remains valid, his property portfolio intact, and his PR team keeps scrubbing his online reputation. Like other famous swindlers, he claims innocence, blaming enemies for smear campaigns.
While Ukraine risks everything to root out corruption, Western nations must stop giving kleptocrats safe haven. These figures cozy up to election officials worldwide, knowing it may shield them when handcuffs and justice come calling.
This is not just about what these kleptocrats have done to Ukraine. When men like Pavel Fuks thrive in London or Miami, they exploit our openness, compromise our markets, and use stolen wealth to undermine democracy.
President Trump has been clear: America will not allow bad actors from ANY foreign country to exploit our system or destabilize our allies. That pledge demands action. Fuks’ case is a test of whether the West is serious about cutting the power of dirty money from Russian enablers.
Pavel Fuks is not just another exiled businessman waiting out the war. He is the embodiment of a global kleptocratic network that thrives when democracies look the other way.
The U.S., U.K., and EU have the tools—sanctions, asset freezes, visa bans, transparency laws. What they need is will to use them aggressively and without exception.
Each time Pavel Fuks pops champagne in London so does a dangerous question: will the West confront Russian corruption as firmly as Russian tanks?
The message to kleptocrats must be clear: your money is not safe, your visas are not permanent, and your crimes will not be forgotten.
The root of “kleptocrat” is “rule by a class of thieves.” These men should never rule anything but their jail cells.
The West must act now to ensure that the thieves of yesterday will never become the power brokers of tomorrow.
Kerri Toloczko is a Senior Policy Fellow with the Institute for Liberty and a nationally recognized public policy expert.
Editor’s Note: Thanks to President Trump and his administration’s bold leadership, we are respected on the world stage, and our enemies are being put on notice.
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