Gennadiy Bogolyubov may be hiding the 5-star Split Radisson Blu Resort & Spa hotel on the Adriatic from British justice. A number of companies and their executives closely associated with Ihor Kolomoisky and Gennadiy Bogolyubov are co-owners and managers of the Croatian hotel Radisson Blu Resort & Spa, Split. This hotel has not been listed among the assets included in the Freezing Order issued by the London court for the seizure of Kolomoisky-Bogolyubov assets, even though it should have been by all indications. Gennadiy Bogolyubov managed to confuse the court and shield one of his expensive assets from being seized.
When businessman Gennadiy Bogolyubov fled abroad under false documents in July 2024, he chose Austria as his destination country. However, he could very well have settled in Croatia, where, as it turns out, he may be hiding a secret asset—a luxurious 5-star hotel, Radisson Blu Resort & Spa in the city of Split, on the Adriatic Sea.
According to Croatian monitoring systems and local press, the hotel is owned and operated by the company HOTEL SPLIT dd.
The owners of HOTEL SPLIT dd are a number of shareholders, the main ones being:
- AEDRO FINANCE LTD, with a 68.84% share. This is an offshore company in Belize, which is known to completely conceal the identities of the owners of the firms registered there. This is a favorite registration spot for Kolomoisky, Bogolyubov, the Surkis brothers, and other prominent figures in the Ukrainian establishment. According to the Croatian press, this firm is the main creditor of the hotel.
- MEMENTO doo, based in Zagreb, Croatia, holds 26.84% of the hotel.
- OLBIA INVESTMENTS LIMITED owns 2.8% of the hotel. This is also an offshore company, but this time based in Cyprus.
For clarity, the latter two companies are essentially the same entity, as OLBIA INVESTMENTS LIMITED is the sole owner of MEMENTO doo.
Moreover, the majority shareholder of OLBIA INVESTMENTS LIMITED is Cyprus-based MERVINOX HOLDING LTD.
Now, let’s detail how the hotel owners might be connected to Kolomoisky and Bogolyubov.
As is known, “PrivatBank” has a list of over 300 individuals and legal entities that were related parties to the bank and defaulted on their debts. Bogolyubov and Kolomoisky, unsurprisingly, top this list, but there is also a seven-page roster of companies affiliated with them. Among these companies is OLBIA INVESTMENTS LTD, a co-owner of the hotel.
The second point is that, according to Croatian sources, the chairman of the supervisory board of HOTEL SPLIT dd, through MEMENTO doo and OLBIA INVESTMENTS LIMITED, is a certain Serhiy Distergov, a businessman of Ukrainian origin who holds Austrian citizenship and has business interests in both Ukraine and abroad.
Moreover, Distergov is also a co-owner of Cyprus-based MERVINOX HOLDING LTD (the owner of OLBIA INVESTMENTS LTD, which is on “PrivatBank’s” list).
The Croatian press notes that Distergov is not only the chairman of the supervisory board of the company that owns the hotel but is also a close friend of Hryhoriy Surkis (who, as a reminder, has also been implicated in schemes around “Privat”). Ukrainian media, in turn, report that Serhiy Distergov is an associate of Gennadiy Bogolyubov.
Another connection between Bogolyubov-Kolomoisky and the aforementioned companies can be traced through their leadership. For instance, the director of MERVINOX HOLDING LTD (the co-owner of OLBIA INVESTMENTS LTD, which manages and owns the hotel) is Marianna Giannakou (Greek: Μαριάννα Γιαννακού, English: Marianna Giannakou).
She has also been (or still is) in charge of several other companies within the Bogolyubov-Kolomoisky orbit. For example, Giannakou was the trustee of shares in PJSC Kharkiv Fat Plant (part of Kolomoisky’s circle), director of OPTIMUSAGRO HOLDING LTD (a Zaporizhzhia oil plant, also in Kolomoisky’s sphere of interest), and Sunaltezza Consulting Ltd (a Bogolyubov asset), among others.
Did the court overlook this Gennadiy Bogolyubov asset?
A modern, luxurious Radisson Blu hotel in one of Croatia’s most fascinating corners, which has recently upgraded from a 4-star to a 5-star rating, with its own beaches, pools, spa, and all the amenities.
In such a hotel, one could enjoy a nice stay. Or even hide. Especially when the companies that own the hotel are affiliated with you, and the people managing these companies are under your financial control. Even the fact that the High Court in England limited your expenses to a “measly” £20,000 per week is of little concern. After all, the hotel is managed by your person, who is also a friend of an old friend. As long as the judge in England doesn’t find out that you are somehow connected to this hotel.
It seems that the High Court of England is currently unaware that Bogolyubov and Kolomoisky may have such an interesting hidden asset. None of the companies associated with the Radisson Blu Resort & Spa in Split are mentioned in the documents (responses to inquiries) from the High Court of England concerning the asset disclosure order for Gennadiy Bogolyubov. However, many other intriguing names and companies are listed.
Bogolyubov and Kolomoisky placed their people to manage the hotel through companies affiliated with the former PrivatBank, but they attempt to conceal everything offshore — it’s hard to come up with an original answer to the question: “Who exactly owns the Radisson Blu Resort & Spa in Croatia?”
Therefore, PrivatBank, which is working to recover the assets misappropriated by Bogolyubov and Kolomoisky, as well as investigators, should probably take a closer look at the Radisson Blu Resort & Spa in Split.
The story of PrivatBank, Gennadiy Bogolyubov and Igor Kolomoisky
At the end of 2016, after numerous abuses were discovered at PrivatBank, which belonged to Igor Kolomoisky and Gennadiy Bogolyubov, it was nationalized by Ukraine. The Cabinet of Ministers made the corresponding decision on December 18, 2016, and by December 21, the state purchased the problematic bank for 1 hryvnia.
The former owners tried by all means, primarily through Ukrainian courts, to regain their lost assets. And they periodically even received favorable rulings. However, the state acted shrewdly. The nationalized PrivatBank decided to take the legal dispute outside of Ukraine to foreign jurisdiction and filed a lawsuit against the former owners in the High Court of England. Here, Bogolyubov’s possession of a British passport played a cruel joke on him (the High Court considers such claims only if the defendants reside in the UK).
On December 9, 2017, PrivatBank announced that the High Court of England had issued a worldwide freezing order on the assets of Kolomoisky, Bogolyubov, and six of their companies. “Through this litigation, the nationalized PrivatBank seeks to recover funds, the amount of which, together with interest, exceeds USD 2.5 billion,” the statement noted.
It is also known that the court restricted Bogolyubov and Kolomoisky’s expenses, setting a weekly “ceiling” of £20,000. Anything beyond that requires approval from PrivatBank.
Additionally, the state commissioned an independent investigation from the reputable international detective agency Kroll. Detectives discovered numerous abuses at PrivatBank during the Kolomoisky-Bogolyubov era. According to the agency’s findings, later known as the “Kroll report,” fraudulent schemes by the former owners caused damage amounting to USD 5.5 billion.
On September 2, 2023, Igor Kolomoisky was charged with fraud and the legalization of assets obtained through criminal means, and he was arrested for two months with the option of posting bail. As of now, he is expected to remain behind bars at least until autumn 2024.
In November 2023, the lawyers of Kolomoisky and Bogolyubov claimed that the lawsuit against them had collapsed in court.
However, on January 31, 2023, according to “Economic Pravda” with reference to a comment from PrivatBank, it became known that the court in London had expanded the ability to globally freeze the assets of the former owners of PrivatBank. “The decision of the English court to grant the bank permission to obtain court orders for the freezing of assets abroad and to require the defendants to provide further asset disclosure information, enabling the monitoring of the enforcement of asset freezing orders, is an extremely positive development for the bank,” noted PrivatBank’s press service.
As for Kolomoisky’s partner, in July 2024, it became known that Bogolyubov fled Ukraine using false documents. His wife was subsequently denied the opportunity to take an important diplomatic position in Austria, and Bogolyubov himself was charged by the State Bureau of Investigations for illegally crossing the border.
