PPP Millions Went to Firm Identified in Ukraine Laundering Suit
- Federal loan list includes company that was tied to Kolomoisky
- Billionaire is focus of civil suit alleging Privatbank looting
This article is for subscribers only.
A company accused of helping launder millions of dollars from Ukraine a decade ago is among the apparent recipients of U.S. virus relief funds, according to federal disclosures.
The company, Optima 777, received at least $2 million in loans from the Paycheck Protection Program, according to virus-relief loan disclosures made public Monday. A company of the same name was part of an international scheme in which billions of dollars were siphoned from a Ukrainian bank by one of its owners, Ukrainian billionaire Ihor Kolomoisky, according to a civil lawsuit filed last year in Delaware. The lender, Privatbank, was seized by Ukraine’s government in 2016 following allegations of widespread fraud.