Article from 10-14-21, By Kenneth Rapoza, Forbes magazine

Ukraine 2021: The Crisis Continues
(excerpt)
. . . His popularity led the creation of a new political party, named after the fictional TV show where Zelensky played an outspoken teacher, critical of his government, who becomes its elected leader. Life has become art. But for many Ukraine watchers and foreign investors – they want their money back. This Servant of the People real life movie version is not like the TV series. This is a flop.

The party’s approval rating is around 30%. Zelensky himself is not much better. The big question for Ukraine is who is on its team now?. . .

Who wants to do business there? A New York investment firm named VR Global Partners is suing a state owned rail transportation monopoly called Ukrzaliznytsia (UZ) in the latest example of companies fed up with the Ukrainians.

Who can believe their most powerful politicians and business leaders?

Zelensky’s name was on a recent list by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists’ Pandora Papers.

According to the ICIJ’s findings published in The Guardian, Zelensky owned a stake in a British Virgin Islands firm described as holding shares in film-production and distribution companies. A month before he was elected president, Zelensky transferred his shares to Serhiy Shefir, a friend and business partner, ICIJ reported. I did not reach out to the president of Ukraine and could not find Shefir.
Last month, someone tried to murder him.

Shefir is believed to have created a network of offshore entities for Zelensky and others, such as Zelensky former business partner and employer, and a U.S. sanctioned Ukrainian banking and media tycoon named Ihor Kolomoisky. U.S. authorities allege that Kolomoisky “laundered $5.5 billion through a tangle of shell companies, purchasing factories and commercial properties across the U.S. heartland,” according to the ICIJ.

The Pandora Papers do not bode well for Ukraine, and is a bad look for Zelensky. As one Washington-based analyst who requested anonymity told me, “Ukraine is the Saudi Arabia of corruption.”

Zelensky promised foreign businessmen that Ukraine will be the “promised land” for foreign investment. It is not. Zelenksy is trying to save his popularity and presidency, to re-ignite Washington’s interest, and settle its disputes with Russia. He has little time to foster a benign investment climate.. . . ,. . .
Source:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/kenrapoza/2021/10/14/ukraine-2021-the-crisis-continues/?sh=27cf3f9e4a8a