Ukraine’s diplomat resigns after “escape scandal” of her billionaire husband

Emine Dzhaparova resigned from the position of Ukraine's representative to international organizations in Vienna, denying all allegations against her billionaire husband accused of escaping potential charges of financial fraud by illegally crossing the border with a lost passport of another person.

Jul 12, 2024 - 18:58

Ukraine’s diplomat resigns after “escape scandal” of her billionaire husband

Emine Dzhaparova

Ukraine’s representative to international organizations in Vienna Emine Dzhaparova announced her resignation from the position and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, following the scandal that her billionaire husband Hennadii Boholiubov illegally left Ukraine using another person’s passport to avoid fraud charges.

This comes amid the investigation by Ukrainska Pravda, which found that Boholiubov was not allowed to leave Ukraine without the permission of Ukraine’s government, so the oligarch acquired a lost passport of a 67-year-old man and allegedly bribed the border guard, who is now in detention.

“The events that unfolded around me and my family are unfortunately manipulative and unfair. Therefore, my efforts are currently focused on providing for myself and my children.” Dzhaparova stated in a Facebook post, denying all allegations against her and her husband.

Dzhaparova also emphasized that she did not violate any laws or used her official position for personal gain.

Ukrainska Pravda spotted Dzhaparova driving her husband to the train station on 24 June, on which he fled to Poland and further to London to “visit his sick mother”, as Boholiubov claimed in a recent interview after the scandal.

The sources of ZN.UA also revealed that the couple planned to move to Vienna for permanent residence since the beginning of the year, coinciding with Dzhaparova’s new appointment, but it did not work out back then.

Boholiubov and his business partner, Ihor Kolomoiskyi, have been under investigation by both Ukrainian authorities and the FBI for their alleged involvement in a massive embezzlement and money laundering scheme through PrivatBank, the largest bank in Ukraine, which was nationalised in 2016.

In 2019, the two oligarchs fled to Ukraine to avoid potential charges in the United States, taking advantage of the country’s policy of not extraditing its own citizens.

While Boholiubov was not formally charged in Ukraine, unlike Kolomoiskyi who is currently in pre-trial detention, the Bureau of Economic Security (BEB) may be preparing a case against him too.

The State Bureau of Investigation (DBR) has already issued a notice of suspicion to the oligarch for an unlawful border crossing and possible passport forgery.

Boholiubov will potentially seek political asylum in Great Britain, according to the sources of ZN.UA. However, multiple allegations against him and his partner Kolomoiskyi, both in Ukraine and other countries, prove that Boholiubov is not as innocent as he tries to present himself.

The Great Escape: How Ukraine’s ninth-richest man slipped out of the country amid fraud allegations

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