ICU, Makar Paseniuk, Burger King and Russian billions: how Ukrainian financiers ended up in Russian business

ICU, Makar Paseniuk, Burger King and Russian billions: how Ukrainian financiers ended up in Russian business

Four years after the occupation of Crimea, a structure of the fund managed by ICU bought a significant stake in Burger King Russia from the Russian state-owned VTB. After the start of the full-scale war, ICU announced its exit from the Russian business, but the buyer, the amount, and the date of the final closing of the deal have still not been publicly disclosed.

This is reported in an investigation by Ukrrudprom.

In February 2018, the Cypriot Xomeric Holdings, linked to the structure of the fund managed by ICU’s Makar Paseniuk and Kostyantyn Stetsenko, purchased another 16,62% of Burger King Russia from the Russian state-owned VTB. The package was worth 4,6 billion rubles — about $80 million.

As a result, Xomeric Holdings’ share in the Russian chain rose from 18,4% to 35,02%. The company became the largest single shareholder of Burger King Russia. Thus, this was an investment in Russian business after the start of the war and the occupation of Crimea.

At the time of the deal, the business continued to grow actively. For 2017, Burger King Russia’s revenue amounted to 29,1 billion rubles, and profit was 900 million rubles.

After the start of the full-scale invasion, ICU 18 March 2022 announced its exit from the Russian asset and stated that the deal was almost complete. In the autumn of 2023 the sale was still at the “final stage.”

Meanwhile the business continued to generate money in Russia. In 2024, Burger King Russia received 90,26 billion rubles in revenue and 1,63 billion rubles in profit.

In September 2025 the main company of Burger King Russia was moved from Cyprus to the special administrative district of the Kaliningrad region. It became MKOOO “BKR,” which owns 99,84% of TOV “Burger Rus.” At the same time, information about the ultimate owners became closed.

And here the key question arises: to whom exactly did ICU sell its 35,02%, for what sum, and when was the deal finally closed? These data are not publicly available.

Separately, the corporate chain of Xomeric Holdings appears in Ukrainian criminal proceeding No. 757/61840/25-k. The company was founded by CIS Opportunities Fund SPC from the British Virgin Islands, which was managed by ICU Investment Management Ltd.

The case materials mention Makar Paseniuk, Kostyantyn Stetsenko, former ICU co-owner and ex‑NBU head Valeria Gontareva, as well as documents regarding EMIS Finance B.V. for $42,628 million and $49,023 million.

At the same time, the investigators’ versions regarding possible damages and Russian ties have not been established by a court as guilt.

Another episode concerns the liquidated Ukrainian “Sberbank of Russia,” which later operated as MR Bank. After its liquidation, there remained 26,9 billion hryvnias of liquid assets, including about 9 billion hryvnias in government bonds. Some of these operations passed through the infrastructure of ICU and the bank Avangard, associated with Paseniuk and Stetsenko.

The securities were seized within proceeding No. 42022102070000059 from 14 March 2022. In publications citing NBU documents, profits from subsequent operations were estimated at more than 850 million hryvnias, and payments to Avangard’s ultimate beneficiaries at 580 million hryvnias.

ICU also appeared in an investigation into funds of Viktor Yanukovych’s circle. The company acted as a broker during the purchase by Cypriot structures of Ukrainian bonds for about $1,5 billion at the end of 2013.

Investigators linked these structures to Yanukovych’s circle and Serhiy Kurchenko. ICU denied the money‑laundering allegations.

At the same time, Makar Paseniuk handled financial matters for Petro Poroshenko. ICU, together with Rothschild, structured Roshen’s assets through companies in the British Virgin Islands, Cyprus, and the Netherlands. Later these assets were transferred into a blind trust.

Through a British Virgin Islands company, Paseniuk also financed American lobbying. The contract provided for a payment of $100 thousand per month, and Paseniuk himself confirmed the payment of $220 572.

Also involved in this story is Poroshenko’s International Investment Bank. After the arrests on Oleksandr Yanukovych’s accounts were lifted, about 2 billion hryvnias in cash were withdrawn. A significant part of the funds was disbursed through IIB.

With fees of about 1% the bank’s potential income from such operations could amount to up to 20 million hryvnias.

In 2025 the NBU separately fined IIB 20,5 million hryvnias for violating financial monitoring requirements. Later the regulator prohibited Poroshenko from voting shares he indirectly owns — 64,98292% of the bank’s shares. The decision was made after sanctions were applied and an assessment of business reputation.

Against the backdrop of all these episodes, the Burger King story appears almost the simplest to verify. There is a specific seller — the Russian state VTB, a specific date — February 2018, a specific amount — 4,6 billion rubles, and a specific stake — 35,02%.

There is also ICU’s statement about exiting the Russian business in March 2022.

But then an information vacuum begins. The buyer has not been publicly named, the sale price has not been disclosed, and there is no clear date for the final closing of the deal. Meanwhile, in 2025 the holding Burger King Russia was moved to the Kaliningrad region, and information about its owners was closed.

So the main question of this story remains without a public answer: who exactly received ICU’s stake in Russian Burger King, how much was paid for it, and when did the Russian asset actually cease to belong to the structure associated with ICU.