President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko was going to expand the list of his media assets through the acquisition of the 112 Ukraine TV channel.
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This was announced by the fugitive Ukrainian oligarch and people's deputy from the “Will of the People” group Alexander Onishchenko.
He claims that Poroshenko invited him to act as an intermediary in concluding a deal with the owner of the channel, Andrei Podshchipkov.
“According to Onishchenko, such a wish was made in May last year. While the negotiations were ongoing, Poroshenko offered to sign an agreement of intent, suggesting a softening of the channel’s information policy towards the president - in exchange for assistance in re-issuing the channel’s licenses and the lifting of sanctions from the National Council on Television and Radio Broadcasting,” says the publication of the Kyiv publication “Strana”. .
Negotiations began in May, but dragged on due to disagreements over the price, the people's deputy said.
“The bargaining has begun. Poroshenko wanted the channel to be bought and sold for $17 million, and Podshchipkov asked for at least $25 million,” Onishchenko said.
According to him, at some stage in the negotiation process, investment banker Makar Pasenyuk appeared, representing the Presidential Administration. He allegedly offered to execute a deal for the offshore company Prime Asset Partners Limited, which later surfaced in the scandal with Poroshenko’s assets in the British Virgin Islands.
During the negotiations, criminal proceedings were initiated against Podshchipkov, and he had to emigrate, Onishchenko said. During the conversation with the journalist, the owner of the TV channel was next to the people’s deputy.
“If they start telling you that all this is not true, I have a heap of correspondence with Sergei Berezenko (deputy head of the Petro Poroshenko Bloc faction in the Verkhovna Rada. - Ed.) and Pasenyuk about the details of the upcoming deal,” Onishchenko said.
The publication notes that Poroshenko is also known to be interested in the NewsOne TV channel, owned by People’s Deputy Yevgeniy Muraev. Bankova wants to create a powerful information media holding, which will also include Channel 5, controlled by Poroshenko, the publication says.
Let us recall that the Ukrainian media wrote in September that Poroshenko held a secret meeting with businessman Igor Kolomoisky, at which the sale of the latter’s 50% share of the “1+1” channel was discussed.