Place of Birth
Born on January 7, 1974, in the village of Iultyn, Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, Magadan Oblast, RSFSR, into the family of a mining engineer. He spent his childhood in Dniprorudne, Zaporizhzhia Oblast.
Education
From 1991 to 1996, he studied at the Faculty of Accounting and Analysis of Foreign Economic Activity at Kyiv Economic University, majoring in international economics and earning a Master’s degree in economics.
In 2003, he defended his Ph.D. dissertation, “International Investments and Effective Economic Development,” at Kyiv Economic University.
Business
1993–1996 – Financial Director of JSC “Finance and Credit.”
1996–1998 – Chairman of the Board of the “Finance and Credit” Financial and Industrial Group, Deputy Chairman of the Board of JSC “Poltava Mining and Processing Plant,” and member of the Supervisory Board of JSC “Ukrnafta.”
Konstantin Zhevago, a 34-year-old investor, became the first Ukrainian billionaire to list one of his companies, Ferrexpo, on the main market of the London Stock Exchange.
In the fall of 2007, Ferrexpo was included in the FTSE 250 index—the London Stock Exchange index based on the share prices of the 250 largest companies.
Konstantin Zhevago was recognized by Forbes magazine as the youngest self-made billionaire in Europe.
His bank, "Finance and Credit," was among the top 10 largest Ukrainian banks, with hundreds of branches across Ukraine (it was liquidated in late 2015).
He controlled well-established and successful enterprises in the mining and metallurgical sectors, shipbuilding and machine building, heavy-duty truck manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, and the food industry in Ukraine, as well as in Western Europe and Central Asia.
He owns the Ukrainian Premier League soccer team Vorskla (Poltava).
According to the Forbes magazine list in March 2012, Zhevago ranked No. 719 in the world and No. 4 in Ukraine with $1.8 billion.
In 2019, NV magazine estimated Zhevago’s fortune at $744 million (+30% from 2018); he was ranked 9th among Ukraine’s wealthiest businessmen.
In 2022, according to Ukrainian Forbes, Zhevago was among the five richest people in Ukraine.
Political Career
From May 12, 1998, to May 14, 2002, he served as a People’s Deputy of the III convocation from electoral district No. 149 in Poltava Oblast.
Member of the Committee on Economic Policy, National Economy Management, Property, and Investments.
He was a member of the NDP faction, the "Revival of Regions" group, the PRP "Reforms-Congress" faction, and the "Solidarity" group.
From May 14, 2002, to May 25, 2006, he was a People’s Deputy of Ukraine of the 4th convocation from Electoral District No. 150 of Poltava Oblast.
Member of the Committee on Legal Policy, member of the Permanent Delegation of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.
He was a member of the "European Choice" group, the "Regions of Ukraine" faction, and the "Reforms and Order" faction.
From May 25, 2006, to November 23, 2007 – Member of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine of the 5th convocation from the “Tymoshenko Bloc,” No. 62 on the list.
Member of the Committee on Legal Policy.
From November 23, 2007 – Member of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine of the 6th convocation from the “Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc,” No. 62 on the list.
Member of the Committee on Legal Policy, member of the Special Control Commission on Privatization.
Head of the parliamentary group on interparliamentary relations with Japan.
During the entire term of the 6th convocation of the Verkhovna Rada, he attended only 11 out of 530 sessions.
In the 2012 parliamentary elections, he ran for a seat in the Verkhovna Rada as an independent candidate in single-member constituency No. 150 in Poltava Oblast (centered in the city of Komsomolsk) and won with 61.20% of the vote.
Member of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Legal Policy, non-factional.
In the 2014 early parliamentary elections in Ukraine, he again ran as an independent candidate in constituency No. 150, where he won with 43.81% of the vote.
Member of the Committee on the Rule of Law and Justice, independent.
Candidate for People’s Deputy in the 2019 parliamentary elections (constituency No. 150, the city of Horishni Plavni, part of the Avtozavodskyi District of Kremenchuk, and the Hlobyn and Kremenchuk districts).
Lost to Oleksiy Movchan, a candidate from the Servant of the People party.
Net worth
According to Forbes, which published an updated ranking of the world’s richest people—including 3,028 billionaires—the list features former Ukrainian MP and president of the Kernel Group holding company Andriy Verevskyi ($1.4 billion).
Investigation
Embezzlement (2007–2014)
In September 2019, criminal proceedings were initiated against Zhevago regarding his possible involvement in the embezzlement of 2.5 billion hryvnias.
The State Bureau of Investigation summoned Kostyantyn for questioning on September 27, 2019.
According to an audit by the Deposit Guarantee Fund, Zhevago and another top manager of Finance and Credit Bank issued several knowingly bad loans totaling nearly 5 billion hryvnias in order to embezzle the funds.
According to the investigation, between 2007 and 2014, an offshore company opened several credit lines at foreign banks.
Pledge agreements totaling $113 million were concluded between Finance and Credit Bank and foreign banks.
The Ukrainian bank guaranteed the offshore company’s obligations using its own funds held in accounts at foreign creditor banks.
In 2015, due to the offshore company’s failure to fulfill its obligations under the agreements, foreign banks seized $113 million from the accounts of Finance and Credit Bank.
The collateral was written off when Finance and Credit Bank was declared insolvent.
On October 2, 2019, after 3.5 years of litigation, the Shevchenkivskyi District Court of Kyiv ruled to collect 1.5 billion hryvnias from Zhevago in favor of the NBU.
The ruling explains that Zhevago refused to fulfill his obligations under a guarantee agreement to repay the bank’s refinancing loans.
On December 3, 2019, Zhevago was placed on an international wanted list and an arrest warrant was issued for him.
On December 13, the Kyiv Court of Appeals returned Zhevago’s appeal without consideration due to failure to pay the court fee within the specified time limit, after which the court’s decision on compulsory collection took effect.
On December 26, 2019, enforcement proceedings for 1.54 billion hryvnias began.
On July 15, 2021, Interpol issued an international arrest warrant for Zhevago in connection with the embezzlement of $113 million.
On December 27, 2022, Zhevago was detained in Courchevel, France, at the request of the State Bureau of Investigation (SBI).
On December 29, a court in Chambéry, France, ordered Zhevago’s extradition; he was notified of his status as a suspect in criminal offenses under Part 3 of Article 27, Part 5 of Article 191, and Part 3 of Article 209 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.
Charges have also been brought against several top managers of Finance and Credit Bank.
In March 2023, Zhevago’s helicopter was seized; as of September 20, 2023, the helicopter was scheduled to perform combat missions as part of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
On November 10, 2023, the French Supreme Court rejected Ukraine’s appeal and ruled that Zhevago was not subject to extradition because Ukraine could not guarantee that Zhevago’s case would be heard by an independent court.
All restrictions on Zhevago were lifted.
On February 6, 2024, Zhevago’s assets were seized, including $113 million he had held in Switzerland.
Embezzlement (2007–2010)
In May 2024, Zhevago faced new charges of embezzling 519 million hryvnias from the Finance and Credit Bank in collusion with two deputies.
According to the investigation, between 2007 and 2010, Zhevago established a criminal organization comprising the chairman, members of the board of the “Finance and Credit” bank, and other individuals close to him. A company controlled by Zhevago obtained a loan from the bank in violation of regulations, after which the funds were transferred to Zhevago’s offshore accounts.
Bribery of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court
He is suspected of bribing Supreme Court judges and its chairman, Vsevolod Knyazev (Part 4 of Article 369 of the Criminal Code), and was detained on May 15, 2023, while receiving the first installment of $450,000.
On July 10, 2024, the High Anti-Corruption Court (HACC) imposed a pretrial detention order on Zhevago in absentia; Zhevago himself was in France at the time of the crime and at the start of the investigation.
The hotel building of the Vyshkov-Mykolaivsky Monastery
On December 11, 2017, 3B Realty LLC, a company close to Kostyantyn Zhevago, purchased the historic apartment building (hotel) of the Military-Nikolsky Monastery in central Kyiv at auction for 210 million hryvnias.
More details: 11 Ivana Mazepy Street
In 2021, following the bankruptcy of “3B Realty,” the building was again put up for auction by the state-owned enterprise “SETAM.” “Fintact Financial Company,” also linked to Zhevago, challenged the results because an outside bidder had won.
However, that party failed to make the payment.
Therefore, SETAM declared "Fintact" the winner of the auction, which also delayed the purchase until 2023.
In 2023, Konstantin Zhevago’s assets (including those registered to related parties) were seized in connection with the embezzlement of assets from the “Finance and Credit” bank.
Among these assets were the building at 11 Mazepa Street and the authorized capital of "Fintact."
After indefinite personal special economic and other restrictive measures (sanctions) were imposed on Konstantin Zhevago on February 12, 2025, SE "SETAM" drew up a new bidding protocol, declaring "Tikvel Company" LLC (registered in 2021, one week before the bidding) the winner.
According to financial reports, the new winner did not engage in any business activities between 2021 and 2024.
On March 26, 2025, the company changed its beneficial owner.
It transferred from Leonid Hlynyany (a member of the Kyiv Regional Council, European Solidarity party faction) to Yaroslav Verbovsky.
However, just the day before, on March 25, 2025, the State Financial Monitoring Service received information from PrivatBank regarding Tikvel Company’s intention to pay nearly 292 million hryvnias for the purchase on SETAM.
The bank suspected that this financial transaction might violate the sanctions imposed on Kostyantyn Zhevago.
According to information from Pivdenny Bank regarding the origin of the funds in Tikvel Company’s account, 111 million hryvnias were received from Kaskad-Invest (ultimate beneficiary—Vitaliy Khomutynnik), and the remaining 184 million hryvnias came as repayable financial assistance from the new beneficiary, Yaroslav Verbovskyi.
Yaroslav Verbovskyi is also a beneficiary of Y. Commodities LLC, a company linked to Ihor Kolomoyskyi. Prior to him, the beneficiary was Mykhailo Bakunenko, a manager for Pavlo Fuks and Vitalii Khomutynnyk in the gas business.
Bakunenko is known as the chairman of the board of the company "Ukrnaftoburinnya" (co-owners: Kolomoyskyi, Khomutynnyk, and Fuks) and is clearly the real mastermind behind the "scheme" involving the building at 11 Ivan Mazepa Street.
Detectives from the Economic Security Bureau of Ukraine determined that “Tikvel Company” is controlled by Kostyantyn Zhevago, and that the purchase on SETAM was a “scheme” aimed at “…maintaining control over the property complex and avoiding confiscation.”
The building and the company’s bank account were seized for “laundering funds obtained by criminal means.”
Family
Father: Valentin Oleksandrovych; mother: Raisa Maksymivna.
Married.
His wife, Alina Volodymyrivna, is a lecturer in international economics at the National Economic University and holds a Ph.D. in Economics.
They are raising their son Ivan and daughter Sofia.