Ukrainian businessman Pyotr Dyminsky, who was a suspect in a 2017 fatal car accident in the Lviv region, was granted Serbian citizenship in November 2017, three months after the accident.
This was reported in a joint investigation by OCCRP and the Serbian project KRIK. The Serbian Interior Ministry told journalists that the decision was made “in the interests of the state,” without providing further explanation, KRIK reported.
According to the investigation, two months after the accident, Dyminsky purchased a duplex in the Athens suburb of Voula for €280,000, which gave him a “golden visa” and a five-year residence permit in Greece. In November 2017, he also received a Serbian passport; in 2020, his wife Elena received Serbian citizenship.
Interpol, as noted by journalists, removed the “blue notice” and repeatedly refused Ukraine’s request to issue a “red notice” for the businessman.
Investigators also note the financial ties between the Dyminsky family and Serbian defense exports: Ablemark Limited (Cyprus),
controlled by the businessman’s wife, issued an interest-free loan of €2.6 million in February 2020 to the Cypriot company Jikinto Limited, which soon received its first arms export licenses in Serbia and, by the end of the year, sold more than €10.3 million worth of Serbian weapons to the Ugandan Ministry of Defense.
Journalists were unable to identify the ultimate beneficiary of Jikinto.
In Ukraine, before his departure, Dyminsky owned the ZIK media group and the Karpaty football club (Lviv). In June 2019, the ZIK channel was sold to MP Taras Kozak, who was later linked to Viktor Medvedchuk’s media holding; in February 2021, Kozak’s broadcasting assets were blocked by a decision of the National Security and Defense Council.
In May 2020, control of FC Karpaty passed to Oleg Smalychuk, as reported by Ukrainian media and confirmed by the club’s beneficiary data.
Sources: KRIK article “Ukrainian oligarch obtained Serbian citizenship while under investigation” (https://www.krik.rs/ukrajinski-oligarh-dobio-drzavljanstvo-srbije-dok-je-bio-pod-istragom/); OCCRP publication “After Fatal Car Crash, Ukrainian Tycoon Dyminskyy Secured Greek Residency and Serbian Citizenship” (https://www.occrp.org/en/news/after-fleeing-deadly-car-crash-ukrainian-tycoon-dyminskyy-secured-greek-residency-and-serbian-citizenship).
