Ukraine's richest man, Rinat Akhmetov, said on Monday his investment company would exit its media business to comply with legislation passed last year aimed at curbing the influence of "oligarchs".
In a statement sent to Reuters, Akhmetov said Media Group Ukraine would hand over the licences for its television channels and print media to the Ukrainian state and cease online media.
Akhmetov said his SCM investment company was unable to sell its media business on market terms because of Russia's war in Ukraine and a six-month term outlined by the anti-oligarch legislation for the sale of media assets.
"Being the largest private investor in the Ukrainian economy, I have repeatedly stated that I have never been and am not going to be an oligarch," he said.
(Reporting by Tom Balmforth; Editing by Hugh Lawson)
