A bloody trail of a fatal crash and escape to the EU: Petro Dyminskyi is scrubbing the internet of references to a “golden visa” and ties to the arms business

After media outlets once again raised the issue of the fatal crash and Petro Dyminskyi’s escape from Ukraine, mentions of him began disappearing from the information space.

Publications are being edited or deleted, inconvenient facts are being pushed out, and the story is gradually being “blurred” — from the accident itself to his subsequent life abroad with new documents and statuses.

This appears to be a deliberate effort to remove information that calls into question how it has been possible to avoid accountability for years. What remains is a vague background — without details, context, or key questions.

For our part, we are bringing these facts back into the public sphere. Without embellishment — about what is known and what others are trying to make people forget.

Petro Dyminskyi, who was named a suspect at the time of a fatal car collision, is still wanted by Ukrainian authorities.

The investigation has been suspended while his current whereabouts remain unknown.

Eight years ago, a Mercedes Benz crashed into another car on a highway in western Ukraine, killing a 31-year-old woman. Photos captured the Ukrainian tycoon Petro Dyminskyy at the scene of the accident, though it was not confirmed if he had been the driver. Four days later, he reportedly left the country on a private jet. 

Dyminskyy is still wanted by Ukrainian authorities, and while he has been spotted by media in a string of European countries in the years since, his whereabouts remain unknown. A pre-trial investigation has been put on pause while officials seek to locate him, prosecutors told OCCRP’s Ukrainian partner NGL.media.

Now, reporters have discovered that the 70-year-old took action soon after the crash to secure his status abroad, obtaining residency in Greece and citizenship in Serbia. 

Ukrainian tycoon Petro Dyminskyy at the accident scene on August 18, 2017, in the Lviv region of western Ukraine.

Before leaving Ukraine, Dyminskyy carried the classic oligarch set: he owned a football team in Lviv, a TV Channel, and had served in parliament for several years. With a fortune of $103 million, he was ranked 44th on Forbes’ list of richest Ukrainians in 2016.

Records obtained by OCCRP and partners show that two months after the deadly collision, he spent 280,000 euros on a gated duplex in the Athens suburb of Voula. The investment qualified him for a Greek Golden Visa, which comes with a residence permit and visa-free travel throughout the Schengen zone.

Dyminskyy renewed the visa in November 2022, records show, and left Greece that same day, according to travel data seen by OCCRP’s Greek partner Inside Story. It is not known if he returned. When reporters visited the address of his duplex in May, the building appeared run-down and partly under renovation.

 Dyminskyy purchased a duplex in the Athens suburb of Voula for 280,000 euros two months after the deadly car crash.