Ostensibly the purpose was to "establish a successful, free and modern country, based on European values." The Clinton Foundation might need more money to achieve that goal...

The article originally appeared at RT Deutsch. Translated for RI by Thomas Beavitt

During Hilary Clinton's tenure as US Secretary [of State] up to 2013, grants to the tune of tens of millions of dollars flowed from Viktor Pinchuk, one of the richest Ukrainian oligarchs, to the Clinton Global Initiative. The goal of the fundraising was to make the Ukraine a "successful, free and modern country on the basis of European values". Shortly thereafter, the country broke apart.

Viktor Pinchuk has excellent contacts. Not only is the Ukrainian steel magnate number 54 on the Forbes list of the richest people in the world, the Pinchuks' family connections are also in evidence. Thus in 2002 the multi-billionaire married Elena Kuchma, daughter of the second Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma, who held office from 1994 to 2005. Among the areas of responsibility of Kuchma included the privatisation of Kryvorizhstals, the largest steel plant in Ukraine. The buyer of the company was the Interpipe Group, which in turn is part owned by Kuchma's son-in-law Pinchuk. The purchase price was about one-sixth of the company's actual value.

Various other start-ups and the acquisition of four Ukrainian TV channels characterised Pinchuk's business activity over the following years. The empire was ultimately rounded off with the establishment of the "Pinchuk Foundation", which claims to be the largest "philanthropic foundation" of Ukraine. No charitable activities on the part of the Foundation, however, have ever been documented.

The Pinchuk Foundation made up for it by being more active in the international arena. Already in 2007 the first payments of around 5 million dollars flowed to Hillary and Bill Clinton's Global Initiative, which picturesquely describes their foundation's purpose as "gathering global leaders to devise and implement innovative solutions to the most pressing challenges facing the world". De facto, however, the Foundation can be considered in terms of an international support network for the political career of Hillary Clinton.

From 2008, Pinchuk committed to a further 29 million US dollar donation to the Clinton Global Initiative, split over five years. In this way, funds from the Ukrainian steel magnate flowed directly across the Atlantic to the accounts of the Clintons during Hillary Clinton's tenure as US Secretary of State during the Obama Administration of 2009-2013, as a report in the Wall Street Journal has recently lain bare.

While the Clintion Foundation officially accepts no funds from foreign governments, during the period in which Hillary Clinton led the US State Department, the doors to financial benefits were on the rebound, as in the Pinchuks case, obviously always wide open. This also raises the question of direct influence over the US government through interest groups from Ukrainian big capital circles in the immediate vicinity of the EU.

The stated aim of the donation in the order of tens of millions of dollars may have been, as the Pinchuk Foundation claims, to "establish a successful, free and modern country, based on European values." It's a choice of words that may carry a pleasant connotation; however, a seasoned observer of transatlantic geopolitics is unlikely to expect any good to come of it.

In November 2013, Ukraine entered a phase of domestic instability, which eventually led to the overthrow of the Ukrainian President Yanukovych following his refusal to sign the EU Association Agreement. As a result, the country was plunged into civil war.

Viktor Pinchuk continues to run successful businesses in Ukraine and Hillary Clinton is on course to run for the highest office in the 2016 US Presidential elections. She can be assured of the strong financial support of the Pinchuk Group.