Hennadiy Boholiubov has recently accused Victor Pinchuk of witness tampering in the Kryvy Rih Iron Ore Combine case, and Pinchuk's team hit back with allegations that Boholiubov's business partner, Ihor Kolomoisky, in 2003 ordered the attempted murder of a lawyer, according to an article in the Independent newspaper published on Saturday.

With the title "Oligarchs at war: Claims of murder among Ukrainian billionaires in High Court case" the publication said that Boholiubov has sought permission to bring forward contempt of court charges, and had accused Pinchuk of pressurizing the former chief prosecutor of Ukraine Sviatolslav Piskun and the rabbi of Dnipropetrovsk Shmuel Kaminezki.

Pinchuk's team have denied that he pressured Kaminezki, citing Pinchuk’s continuing donations to the community and numerous friendly emails and invitations from him long after the supposed threats and bribery attempts took place. They added that the rabbi’s testimony should not be trusted as he is financially dependent on Boholiubov and Kolomoisky.

Pinchuk’s team hit back with allegations in the High Court that the chief prosecutor had previously helped cover up attempted murders ordered by Kolomoisky. This concerns an attempt to murder a Ukrainian lawyer who was attacked for refusing to leak details on a client. Kolomoisky "then arranged the killing of the gang members who botched the attacks… and sought to cover up these murders," reads Pinchuk's witness statement.

Kolomoisky has denied the allegations which were not considered by the judge and formed part of what Justice Flaux described as "mudslinging" between the parties – claims, denials and counter-allegations.

Flaux rejected the contempt of court claims but said it could be reconsidered after the main court case next January.

According to the Independent, Pinchuk also claims that Kolomoisky, who is the governor of a region of Ukraine, attempted to pressure him into abandoning his claim by threatening to conscript him into the Ukrainian army to fight in Donbas.

Pinchuk’s team’s statement adds that Kolomoisky and Boholiubov have been attempting to embarrass him into dropping his legal case against them by publicizing allegations surrounding the 15 years old murder of the Ukrainian journalist Georgy Gongadze during the rule of Pinchuk’s father-in-law, former president Leonid Kuchma.