A Saturday statement from the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) said that the billionaire, referred to as the "de facto owner of a large financial and industrial group" – had allegedly tried to launder over 500 million Ukrainian hryvnia ($13.5 million) by "transferring it abroad, while using the infrastructure of banking institutions controlled by him."

A Kyiv court has ordered him to pretrial detention for two months amid an ongoing investigation, with bail having been set at a whopping $14 million.

Importantly, The New York Times in its Tuesday coverage of Kolomoisky's arrest highlighted that he was an early major backer of now President Volodymyr Zelensky who had a hand in bringing him to power. He's also widely believed to have funded extremist private militia armies at various times.