This story is part of a series on ICFJ Jim Hoge Reporting Fellows. Read additional stories here and here.
“This is evidence for the future. It’s critical to document these crimes now, even if justice is delayed,” says Maria Zholobova, a Russian journalist in exile and an ICFJ Jim Hoge Reporting Fellow, who investigated how the son of Ukraine's ousted president allegedly profits from Ukraine’s Russian-occupied territories.
Maria Zholobova, a journalist working at investigative outlet IStories, has long been interested in who is financially benefiting from Russian-occupied regions in Ukraine. But, “few things are harder to investigate than the economy in those areas,” she said. “You can’t do the basic work: travel to the scene, talk to people on the ground, see things for yourself, or chase down leads.”
So, for a story supported by the Jim Hoge Fellowship, Zholobova turned to customs data and export records, hoping to find something. And she did. She noticed that a company registered to a run-down building on the outskirts of a Russian town had, over the past two years, exported nearly half a million tons of coal labeled as “Russian” but produced in Ukraine’s occupied territory, primarily to Turkey.
“The scheme is straightforward,” she said. “Coal is sold at a low price to an offshore company registered in the British Virgin Islands, helping minimize customs duties. From there, it can be resold anywhere, at any price, with the profits safely tucked away offshore.”
When she started digging, Zholobova found that Oleksandr Yanukovych, the son of Ukraine's former president who was ousted following the 2014 Revolution of Dignity, seemed to be behind the shell company. After fleeing the country in 2014, the younger Yanukovych found asylum in Russia. He is wanted in Ukraine, and the European Union has imposed sanctions against him. “Nearly a decade after Yanukovych was ousted, his family is still profiting from the country’s economy,” says Zholobova.
The investigation received widespread media attention. But, “predictably, there will be no responsibility for the Yanukovych family right now,” Zholobova said, emphasizing the importance of documenting the profiteering nonetheless.
Zholobova said that support from the ICFJ’s Jim Hoge Fellowship made this investigation possible. “This kind of long-term investigation is something small, exiled newsrooms often can't afford,” she said. “Spending months digging into a single story is a luxury – but an essential one.”
The Jim Hoge Reporting Fellowships honor former ICFJ Board chairman and venerated editor James F. Hoge Jr., who passed away in 2023. The initiative supports rising news leaders in the U.S. and abroad, helping the next generation of journalists safely and effectively report on pressing global issues.