Former space agency head Dmitry Rogozin seeks probe into Mikhail Fridman’s alleged sponsorship of Ukrainian military

Dmitry Rogozin, formerly the head of Russia’s space corporation Roskosmos and now a Federation Council member, has appealed to the federal Investigative Committee, asking the agency to investigate the oligarch investment banker Mikhail Fridman and his alleged financing of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

“I filed today,” Rogozin informed the news agency RIA Novosti, adding that he was asking the Investigative Committee “to check on the reports of Fridman’s financing of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, which is punishable by a harsh article of the Criminal Code.”

According to Rogozin, he has also filed complaints with the Prosecutor General and the FSB.

A day earlier, the Telegram channel Mash reported that Fridman was being denounced for treason and “discrediting” the Russian military by Ivan Otrakovsky, head of the grassroots organization Army of Defenders of Fatherland. In his complained, also filed with the Prosecutor General’s Office, Otrakovsky accused both Fridman and his longtime business partner Petr Aven of donating 150 million euros to Ukraine in an effort to shed European and American sanctions.

Mikhail Fridman is a co-founder of LetterOne, an investment company that has indeed reported having donated $150 million “to support the urgent work underway to help those affected by the war in Ukraine.” Days before the charitable donation was announced, both Fridman and Aven reportedly resigned from LetterOne’s board of directors, while their company shares were frozen, according to a corporate press release.

Fridman returned to Russia days after quitting the U.K. and moving to Israel, which he was forced to leave almost immediately when Hamas insurgents launched an unexpected massive attack on the country.