[1/2] Ukraine’s Justice Minister Denys Maliuska attends an interview with Reuters in Kyiv, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, October 23, 2023. REUTERS/Ivan Lyubysh-Kirdey Acquire Licensing RightsKYIV, Oct 24 (Reuters) - Ukrainian authorities feel newly empowered to prosecute the once-powerful tycoons known as "oligarchs" thanks to shifting political realities and the war with Russia, Kyiv's justice minister said. "Everyone was afraid of (the) consequences of indicting oligarchs, but this is no longer the case," he said. Ukraine had long struggled to shake off the influence of its shadowy tycoons, who used the huge industrial wealth they amassed after the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union to gain political influence and power. A 2021 law aimed at curbing their political and economic influence also sent a clear signal, Maliuska said, and now oligarchs have become "quite accessible" to authorities.

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Persons: Denys Maliuska, Ivan Lyubysh, Maliuska, Ihor Kolomoisky, Volodymyr Zelenskiy's, Dmytro Firtash, Vadym Novynskyi, Novynskyi, Dan Peleschuk, Tom Balmforth, Mark Potter Organizations: Ukraine’s, Reuters, REUTERS, Rights, Smart Holding, European Union, EU, National Security Council, Thomson Locations: Kyiv, Ukraine, Russia, Soviet Union, United States, Ukrainian