As a candidate for a second term in 2019, he obtained 24.5% in the second round, being defeated by Volodymyr Zelensky. There was no true consensus in the expert community on why Poroshenko lost, with opinions ranging from opposition to intensifying nationalism, failure to stem corruption, dissatisfaction of overlooked Russian-speaking regions with his presidency, to dissatisfaction with Poroshenko's intense conflicts with other pro-Western politicians, such as Andriy Sadovyi and former President of Georgia Mikheil Saakashvili (with the latter being forced out of Ukraine)[11][12][13][14][15] and the rise of the pro-Russian Viktor Medvedchuk; Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and anti-corruption activist Denys Bihus accused Poroshenko and Medvedchuk of "secretly working together".[16][17][18][19]
Poroshenko is currently a people’s deputy of the Verkhovna Rada and leader of the party European Solidarity.
Outside government, Poroshenko has been a prominent Ukrainian oligarch with a lucrative career in acquiring and building assets. His most recognized brands are Roshen, the large-scale confectionery company which has earned him the nickname of "Chocolate King", and, until its sale in November 2021, the TV news channel 5 kanal.
He is considered an oligarch due to the scale of his business holdings in the manufacturing, agriculture and financial sectors, his political influence that included several stints at government prior to his presidency, and ownership of an influential mass-media outlet.
Poroshenko's business empire also includes several car and bus factories, Kuznia na Rybalskomu shipyard, the 5 Kanal television channel,[32] as well as other businesses in Ukraine.
Although not the most prominent in the list of his business holdings, the assets that drew much recent media attention, and often controversy, are the confectionery factory in Lipetsk, Russia, that became controversial due to the Russian military intervention in Ukraine (2014–present), the Sevastopol Marine Plant (Sevmorzavod) that has been confiscated after the 2014 Russian forcible annexation of Crimea and the media outlet 5 kanal, particularly because of Poroshenko's repeated refusal to sell an influential media asset following his accession to presidency.
In March 2012, Forbes placed him on the Forbes list of billionaires at 1,153rd place, with US$1 billion.[34] As of May 2015, Poroshenko's net worth was about US$720 million (Bloomberg estimate), losing 25 percent of his wealth because of Russia's ban of Roshen products and the state of the Ukrainian economy.[35]
The estimate of his assets was set at US$979 million, a 20% growth, and his ranking increased from 9th to 6th wealthiest person in Ukraine. The article noted that Poroshenko remained one of the only two European leaders who owned a business empire of such scale, with Silvio Berlusconi of Italy being the other.
A total of €450 million is kept in an Amsterdam-based company registered in Cyprus, as a result of which his effective tax rate is 5% rather than the statutory tax rate of 18% in Ukraine.
The company is likely to be worth much more, as the annual accounts published by the Dutch Chamber of Commerce only contain the book value of the shares, which is very likely to be lower than the market value.[37]
After his election, Poroshenko lost the billionaire status as his net worth dropped by 40% to reach $705 million.[38]
In September 2005, highly publicized mutual allegations of corruption erupted between Poroshenko and Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko involving the privatizations of state-owned firms.[48] Poroshenko, for example, was accused of defending the interests of Viktor Pinchuk, who had acquired state firm Nikopol Ferroalloy for $80 million, independently valued at $1 billion.[49] In response to the allegations, Yushchenko dismissed his entire cabinet of ministers, including Poroshenko and Tymoshenko.[50]
2014 Ukrainian revolution[edit]
Poroshenko actively and financially supported the Euromaidan protests between November 2013 and February 2014,[26] leading to an upsurge in his popularity, although[26] he did not participate in negotiations between then President Yanukovych and the Euromaidan parliamentary opposition parties Batkivshchyna, Svoboda and UDAR.[26]
In an interview with Lally Weymouth, Poroshenko said: "From the beginning, I was one of the organizers of the Maidan. My television channel — Channel 5 — played a tremendously important role. ... At that time, Channel 5 started to broadcast, there were just 2,000 people on the Maidan. But during the night, people went by foot — seven, eight, nine, 10 kilometers — understanding this is a fight for Ukrainian freedom and democracy. In four hours, almost 30,000 people were there."[72] The BBC reported, "Mr Poroshenko owns 5 Kanal TV, the most popular news channel in Ukraine, which showed clear pro-opposition sympathies during the months of political crisis in Kiev."[46]
On 2 April, Poroshenko stated, "If I am elected, I will be honest and sell the Roshen Concern."[79] He also said in early April that the level of popular support for the idea of Ukraine's joining NATO was too small to put on the agenda "so as not to ruin the country."[80
During his visit in Berlin, Poroshenko stated that Russian separatists in the Donbas "don't represent anybody. We have to restore law and order and sweep the terrorists off the street."[89]
Domestic policy[edit]
Peace plan for Eastern Ukraine[edit]
At the time of his inauguration, armed pro-Russian rebels, after disputed referendums, had declared the independence of the separatist Donetsk People's Republic and Luhansk People's Republic and controlled a large part of Donbas, but were largely considered to be illegitimate by the international community.[81][90] After the inauguration, Poroshenko launched a "peace" plan envisioned to garner the recognition of the presidential elections in Ukraine by Russia, consisting of a cease-fire with the separatists (named "terrorists" by Poroshenko himself) and the establishment of a humanitarian corridor for civilians ("who are not involved in the conflict").[100] Poroshenko warned that he had a "Plan B" if the initial peace plan was rejected.[101]
On 23 March 2015, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko accepted the resignation of billionaire Ihor Kolomoisky as governor of Dnipro region over the control of oil companies.[125] "There will be no more oligarchs in Ukraine," Poroshenko said adding that "oligarchs must pay more [taxes] than the middle class and more than small business."
During Poroshenko's 2019 campaign for reelection a major scandal broke out in which business partners of Poroshenko (but not Poroshenko himself) were accused of smuggling Russian components to Ukrainian defense factories at wildly inflated prices.[145][144]
Corruption[edit]
Corruption in Ukraine is a widespread problem; although there are signs that during Poroshenko presidency it decreased (thanks to the Prozorro digital system).[Critics of Poroshenko have pointed out that he removed jurisdiction of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine over records about off-the books payments to Paul J. Manafort who lobbied on behalf of former Ukraine president Viktor Yanukovych and served as campaign manager for Donald Trump during his presidential campaign.[146] Moreover, Poroshenko stripped of Ukrainian citizenship Mikheil Saakashvili who criticized him for not fighting Ukrainian corruption.[147]
Russia[edit]
In June 2014, Poroshenko forbade any cooperation with Russia in the military sphere.[154]
At the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe on 26 June 2014 Poroshenko stated that bilateral relations with Russia cannot be normalized unless Russia undoes its unilateral annexation of Crimea and returns its control of Crimea to Ukraine.[155]
NATO[edit]
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At his speech at the opening session of the new parliament on 27 November 2014, Poroshenko stated "we've decided to return to the course of NATO integration" because "the nonalignment status of Ukraine proclaimed in 2010 couldn't guarantee our security and territorial integrity".[158] The Ukrainian parliament on 23 December 2014 voted 303 to 8 to repeal a 2010 bill that had made Ukraine a non-aligned state in a bill submitted by Poroshenko.[159] On 29 December 2014 Poroshenko vowed to hold a referendum on joining NATO.[160] On 22 September 2015 Poroshenko claimed that "Russia's aggressive actions" proved need for the enlargement of NATO . . .
Police raid at Poroshenko's headquarters and gym[edit]
On 20 December 2019, Ukrainian law enforcement raided both Poroshenko's party headquarters and gym on the orders of President Zelensky. Hidden cameras and recording devices were found inside the gym's smoke detectors and security alarms. According to the State Investigation Bureau, those were allegedly secretly recording and filming Poroshenko's gym clients, of which are politicians and businessmen. Poroshenko and Ihor Kononenko, deputy head of Poroshenko's party, are both owners of said gym and could not be reached for comments.
The raid was part of two ongoing criminal investigations which are focused on two concerns.
First, the alleged theft of servers with classified information.
Second, the alleged tax evasion and money laundering
Criminal case[edit]
On 20 December 2021, Poroshenko was accused of state treason, aiding terrorist organizations and financing terrorism due to allegedly organizing the purchase of coal from separatist-controlled areas of Ukraine together with pro-Russian politician Viktor Medvedchuk.[173] If convicted, he faces up to 15 years behind bars.[174] Poroshenko denied the allegations, calling them "fabricated, politically motivated, and black PR directed against [Zelensky's] political opponents".[173] On 6 January 2022, a Ukrainian court seized Poroshenko’s property.[175] On 15 January 2022, Poroshenko announced via a video message on Facebook: "I am returning to Ukraine on a flight from Warsaw at 09:10 a.m. on January 17… to defend Ukraine from Russian aggression", despite the case against him.[176][177] Following his return to Ukraine, the prosecutor's office asked a court to either remand Poroshenko in pre-trial detention for two months, or oblige him to pay bail of 1 billion hryvnia (37 million dollars), wear an electronic bracelet, remain in Kyiv, and hand over his passport.[174][178][179] Ultimately, the court chose a third option ('personal commitment'), which is less strict than house arrest and doesn't involve paying bail.[180][181] According to this commitment, Poroshenko has to submit his passport to the authorities, not leave Kyiv or the Kyiv Oblast without first receiving permission from the court or the prosecutors office, and inform the authorities if his place of employment or residence change.[182]
2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine[edit]
On 25 February 2022, amid the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, Poroshenko appeared on TV with a Kalashnikov rifle together with the civil defense forces on the streets of Kiev. He also stated that he believed that "Putin will never conquer Ukraine, no matter how many soldiers he has, how many missiles he has, how many nuclear weapons he has... We Ukrainians are a free people, with a great European future. This is definitely so."[183][184]
Panama Papers[edit]
Poroshenko set up an offshore company in the British Virgin Islands during the peak of the war in Donbas.[185] Leaked documents from the Panama Papers show that Poroshenko registered the company, Prime Asset Partners Ltd, on 21 August 2014. Records in Cyprus show him as the firm's only shareholder.[186] He said that he had done nothing wrong, and the legal firm, Avellum, overseeing the sale of Roshen, Poroshenko's confectionery company, said that "any allegations of tax evasion are groundless". The anti-corruption group Transparency International believes that the "creation of businesses while serving as president is a direct violation of the constitution".[187]
His name was cited in the list of politicians named in "Paradise Papers" allegations. . .
New year vacationing in 2018[edit]
In January 2018, journalists from Radio Free Europe reported that during Poroshenko's New Year's vacation starting 1 January 2018 on the Maldives, there were ten people who spent $500,000 to rent separate islands and the most expensive hotel in the country.[207][208]
On 30 March 2018, Poroshenko submitted his income declaration. Poroshenko declared that he spent between 1.3 and 1.4 million UAH on this vacation – half what journalists had reported (some details about the president's vacation were classified).[209][208]
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