The law firm of Amsterdam Partners LLP has been retained by Vadym Novynskyi, a Ukrainian citizen, religious figure, former Ukrainian parliamentarian from Mariupol and founder of the Smart Holding Group, to defend against a series of politically motivated attacks by the Ukrainian government.

Novynskyi, who is a protodeacon with the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC), has appointed Amsterdam Partners LLP and a team of international lawyers to address false accusations, seizures of assets he historically held, and potential trumped up charges being fabricated by high-level government officials in Kyiv. Although last year Novynskyi relinquished his ownership of Smart Holding Group, the Ukrainian authorities are continuing their corporate raid against the industrial and investment group, under the premise that Novynskyi's religious beliefs justify doing so, according to Robert Amsterdam, founding partner of Amsterdam Partners LLP.

"Unfortunately, for some Ukrainian officials the war with Russia represents an opportunity for extortion and corporate raiding," according to Robert Amsterdam, founding partner of Amsterdam Partners LLP. "My client has shown unwavering support for Ukrainian sovereignty and has strongly denounced Russian aggression, and yet a few corrupt Ukrainian officials are acting outside the rule of law to violate his religious freedoms and attempt to steal property based on completely false accusations."

Amsterdam continued: "The global goodwill and support for the Ukrainian war effort must not become a blanket of impunity for corruption and theft. Any suggestion that Mr. Novynskyi has in any way 'aided' Russia is offensively false, especially in light of the significant material contributions made by our client to support the people of Ukraine. He is instead being ruthlessly targeted for his religious beliefs and subjected to blatant corporate raiding by the state. We will explore every legal avenue to halt these predatory attacks, and to ensure that the officials who are abusing their powers in attacking our client are ultimately held accountable."

Amsterdam Partners LLP is an international law firm with offices in London and Washington DC. More information is available at www.amsterdamandpartners.com.

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