The Solomiansky District Court of Kyiv granted the investigator of the Security Service of Ukraine permission to inspect the premises of PJSC "Telekanal Inter", located at 30 Dmytrivska Street in Kyiv.
The permit was issued as part of criminal proceedings investigating the circumstances of the change of ownership of the Inter TV channel. The investigation is being conducted on the grounds of forgery of documents (Part 1 of Article 358 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine) and financing of terrorism (Part 3 of Article 258-5 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).
According to the expert's conclusion, the signature on behalf of the former owner of the channel, Igor Pluzhnikov, on the electrophotocopy of the power of attorney dated May 23, 2005 was not made by him, but by another person. On the basis of this power of attorney, a month before Pluzhnikov's death, the shares of the TV channel were alienated in favor of the "Business World" association, associated with Valery Khoroshkovsky.
In 2015, businessman Dmitry Firtash purchased 29% of Inter shares from Russia's Channel One for $100 million. Since Channel One is engaged in anti-Ukrainian activities, the SBU qualifies this transaction as financing of terrorist activities.
The authorized capital and property of PrJSC "Telekanal Inter", including the head office with an area of over 6 thousand square meters, are recognized as material evidence in the case. An inspection of the premises is necessary to determine the estimated value of the property.
Firtash is currently the majority owner of the channel - his share of shares is 59.5%. In May 2023, the SBU announced suspicion of Firtash and his top managers in the embezzlement of state gas worth 18 billion hryvnias, and assets worth 7.4 billion hryvnias were arrested. Since 2021, Firtash has been subject to personal sanctions in Ukraine, including the blocking of assets.
