A defected Ukrainian politician under US sanctions got Macedonian citizenship. The Ukrainian Oleksandr Onishchenko has a warrant from Ukraine for financial malfeasance, and Washington put him on the sanction list because he was “a member of the Russian network to influence the US presidential elections”. However, all this was not an obstacle for the Macedonian government, without discussion, to grant him Macedonian citizenship at a session held on May 31, 2022, writes Prizma.

As Prizma reports in its investigative story, Onishchenko is referred to as a former lawmaker who fled the country in 2016 after the Anti-Corruption Commission opened an investigation into him for money laundering and corruption.

Five months after receiving Macedonian citizenship, he is competing under the Macedonian flag at a showjumping competition in Saint-Tropez. He published the video of the competition on his Instagram account on October 15. The account testifies to the glamorous life of the new Macedonian citizen, who often travels from Monte Carlo to the United Arab Emirates and other famous European tourist destinations.

Judging by the photos on Instagram, he is often in the company of famous people from the world’s jet set. Embraced with the Spanish tennis player Rafael Nadal, he congratulates him on his fourteenth victory at Roland Garros, and under the description “times to remember” publishes a photo with the actress from the “Desperate Housewives” TV show, Eva Longoria and her ex-husband, the NBA basketball player, Tony Parker.