Šolak as Member of an International Network Controlled by Powerful Oligarchs: Linked to Putin’s Money, Qatar’s Intelligence Operation, and London Lobbyists
Foreign investigative portals specialising in corruption are increasingly uncovering the depth of international corruption, whose tentacles often reach our region. The name of Dragan Šolak, founder of United Group, is regularly mentioned when it comes to the suspicious origin of money, its non-transparent flows, payments for lobbying services, and, more broadly, the obscuring of reality.
An interesting analysis of the interconnectedness of shadowy power brokers, supported by facts about Šolak’s business dealings and connections that Kurir has been investigating for years, has been produced by the well-regarded Visegrad24, a media outlet focusing on investigative topics and corruption worldwide. Researchers from this portal explained how the financial and lobbying network operates, giving tycoons and oligarchs – including Šolak – powerful tools to skilfully manipulate and earn vast sums under the guise of fighting for freedom.
At the centre of this story is Highgate Advisory, the lobbying firm about which Kurir has written extensively as one of the key cogs in Šolak’s advance against competitors as well as relevant European institutions. Visegrad24 writes that Highgate is a “dubious London lobbying company that turns Kremlin money and state capture into so-called strategic communications”.
“It is a weapon in the hands of oligarchs – from Ukrainian billionaires to Balkan media operations – and an example of how we have been quietly kidnapped. Highgate Advisory Ltd. appeared in London’s Mayfair in January 2020. Behind its discreet façade as a ‘special situations consulting firm’ lay offshore finances, post-Soviet oligarchs, and political puppetry disguised as ‘public relations’. Within just two years they appeared in the German Federal Lobby Register – not a bad achievement for a small team that supposedly advises start-ups. So who is actually paying to slip through this unnoticed ‘back door’ into the corridors of European power?” the portal’s investigators ask.
The first client they mention is Ferrexpo plc, a Ukrainian iron ore mining giant owned by billionaire Kostyantin Zhevago. They note that Zhevago has been subject to investigations for fraud and embezzlement in several countries.
“Yet Highgate lobbies in the German Bundestag on his behalf, under the pretext of ‘Ukraine’s reconstruction’ and ‘green initiatives’. Zhevago is an oligarch under sanctions, but Highgate, through ‘greenwashing’ his activities with polished reports about his ‘environmentally responsible mining’, secures him VIP access to Western decision-makers. How deep does this rabbit hole go? Next comes a Swiss twist: Zhevago’s Ferrexpo AG is headed by Wolfram Kuoni, a symbol of so-called closeness to the Kremlin. Kuoni was vice-president of Gazprombank Switzerland, effectively Moscow’s bank in the West. He built his career on rerouting Russian billions through Western banks. From non-transparent deals to influence on supervisory boards – Kuoni is the kind of bridge oligarchs can only dream of. Highgate’s lobbying for Ferrexpo represents just another lifeline for money flows linked to the Kremlin,” the article explains.
Kurir has written about Wolfram Kuoni and explained how he was, among other roles, a key link enabling Šolak to access money flows from official Moscow and Russian oligarchs. Visegrad24 takes the story of dirty lobbying further by introducing another of Šolak’s players – the Balkan Free Media Initiative (BFMI), about which we have also written on several occasions, showing that it is clearly and financially tied to Šolak.
Visegrad24 notes that Highgate’s game does not end with mining magnates, but that they founded BFMI – a Brussels-based NGO that loudly promotes “media freedom”.
“This ‘noble mission’ relies on the support of United Media, managed by Dragan Šolak, a long-time business associate of Wolfram Kuoni. In other words, the oversight bodies of civil society are financed by the very forces they are supposed to oversee. BFMI’s budget on paper amounts to a laughable nine thousand euros a year. In reality, more than one hundred thousand euros flows through the organisation. They then pressure EU institutions to clamp down on the Serbian government, presenting this as an ‘independent recommendation’. We call this a proxy war – private money hijacking Western non-governmental organisations to topple Balkan governments. Capturing the state 1-0-1 - don’t attack. Fund ‘freedom fighters’ who act like locals. Highgate shapes the narrative, Šolak pays the bill, and the EU takes the bait,” write the journalists of Visegrad24.
They reveal that reports link Highgate to an intelligence operation supported by Qatar, targeting witnesses of the International Criminal Court (ICC). Citing The Guardian, Visegrad24 writes that Highgate was part of a network of contractors who sought compromising information about prosecutor Karim Khan.
“Highgate’s superpower is plausible deniability. Clients get their dirt without fingerprints. ICC scandals and Qatar’s grievances are channelled through this and other intermediaries (proxies). Highgate is the central nervous system of the intermediary empire. Oligarch lobbying, fake NGOs, and intelligence whispers pass through a single address in Mayfair. Western registers are toothless, except that they can expose filings proving that democracy is for sale,” the article warns.
Visegrad24 also writes about Highgate’s founder, Thomas Eymond-Laritaz, an adviser to Viktor Pinchuk, Ukraine’s steel tycoon.
“His experience at Mercury and APCO earned him contacts as a successful dealer in influence. From boardrooms in Kyiv to back rooms in Brussels, he linked the entire network. Eymond-Laritaz did not build Highgate in a vacuum. He is the next stage in the development of Pinchuk’s strategy: blending philanthropy and lobbying to launder power. This is the legacy of the oligarchic rush of the 1990s that still haunts the West today. Partnerships seal the deal: Zhevago’s Ferrexpo fits into Kuoni’s Gazprombank network. Šolak’s United Group drives BFMI’s anti-Serbian campaign. It is a chain of influence: eastern money merging with western PR and politics serving a select few,” the article continues.
“Highgate lays bare the rot in our myths of transparency. Lobby registers track ‘what’, but not ‘who’ or ‘why’. Parliaments receive ‘expert’ briefings from phantom companies, and the press is fed narratives crafted by PR experts and spin doctors. Berlin, Brussels, London - your offices are not safe. They are rented spaces for the world’s most skilful networks. It is time to scrutinise the work of consulting firms or watch your sovereignty slip from your hands. Remember those who drive this machine at high speed. First is Dr Wolfram Kuoni, chairman of Ferrexpo AG, former vice-president of Gazprombank, and a member of the United Media board. He is the conduit for Kremlin money into the West. And then there is Dragan Šolak, the United Group tycoon. He invests over one hundred thousand euros into the BFMI NGO through Highgate to push the Serbian government out of the EU’s shadow. Media freedom? No, this is a magnate’s revenge.”
The researchers at Visegrad24 conclude that this is how empires are toppled, not with tanks.
“This is how empires collapse from within: not with the help of tanks, but briefcases. What do you think about this? Should the registers be reformed or shut down?” is the question with which Visegrad24 ends the article.
Kurir.rs
