When Glib Dreger arrived in the United Kingdom to study at Gordonstoun — the elite Scottish boarding school that once educated King Charles III — almost no one in Britain appears to have asked the most basic question: where did the money for such an education come from?

That question is all the more pressing because open-source investigations, Ukrainian media reports, and extensive court filings describe his father, Vladyslav Olegovych Dreger, as one of the most controversial figures in Ukraine’s criminal-corporate landscape. For more than two decades he has been repeatedly linked to violent raiding schemes, corporate takeovers, and alleged cooperation with pro-Russian militants in occupied Donbas.

Education, unexplained wealth and due diligence gaps

Today, while Ukraine is fighting for its survival, Glib Dreger — a Ukrainian citizen of full mobilisation age — continues to live in London, operating UK- and Cyprus-registered companies and participating in investigative journalism projects that some Ukrainian commentators argue have inadvertently undermined Ukrainian national security. The portrait that emerges is one of troubling contradictions and unanswered questions, both for the United Kingdom and for Ukraine.

Vladyslav Dreger’s background has been extensively documented by reputable media, as well as through multiple civil and criminal proceedings over the years. According to these sources, Dreger emerged from the violent criminal underworld of 1990s Donbas. Ukrainian journalists have repeatedly described him as a product of the notorious Kramatorsk organised-crime group known as “17th District,” alleged to have been involved in assassinations, including the murder of journalist Igor Aleksandrov.

Over time, Dreger was associated with a long chain of hostile corporate takeovers of major Ukrainian industrial enterprises — a pattern repeatedly flagged by local investigative reporters.

Operations across occupied territories

Some of the most serious allegations concern his business activities after 2014, when parts of Donetsk region fell under the control of Russian-backed militants. Ukrainian media have reported that his transportation companies continued operations both within the occupied territories and across the contact line, allegedly paying the so-called “taxes” that armed groups demanded from transport operators.

Despite recurring criminal investigations over the years, many cases stalled, were closed, or were described in the press as politically influenced. Nevertheless, the breadth and consistency of reporting have left him with one of the most extensive criminal reputations in the Ukrainian business world.

Corporate opacity and offshore structures

Public registries show that Glib Dreger serves as a director of a London-registered firm, Toptur Group Limited, which has no visible economic activity and provides no clear explanation of its purpose. He is also a director of Real Casa Investments Limited, a Cyprus-registered company previously known as T.R.L. Real Logistics. This Cypriot entity uses nominee service providers and corporate secretaries — structures common in asset-holding vehicles associated with opaque financial flows.

While the existence of such companies does not prove wrongdoing, the combination of opaque ownership, lack of identifiable business activity, and a family history linked to high-risk jurisdictions constitutes a cluster of red flags under international financial-crime standards.

Journalistic ties and ethical questions

Yet it is Dreger’s involvement with Bellingcat that has raised the most controversy in Ukraine. He was credited as a junior contributor to Bellingcat’s February 2022 report analysing Russian disinformation videos and later to an October 2023 investigation into footage filmed in Sudan — a report that some commentators feared could inadvertently reveal sensitive operational information.

There is no evidence that Glib Dreger acted with malicious intent, nor that he misused his access. Nonetheless, given his father’s background, critics in Ukraine have questioned the advisability of allowing an individual from such a high-risk family environment to be involved in investigations that touch on Ukrainian military operations during wartime.

Wider implications for the UK and Ukraine

The Dreger case highlights long-standing British vulnerabilities to illicit finance from the post-Soviet region. Parliamentary committees have warned about the penetration of UK society by wealth of unexplained origin. The story of Glib and Vladyslav Dreger fits that pattern: unexplained wealth, an elite private education, offshore companies, high-risk associations, and a lack of meaningful checks by British institutions.

At the centre of this story lie unresolved questions: How exactly was Glib’s education financed? What is the source of funds that support his life in London? Are the UK and Cypriot companies under his name holding assets that belong to his father? Have British authorities ever conducted enhanced due diligence on the family? And why is a Ukrainian citizen of mobilisation age residing in London without apparent scrutiny?

No court has convicted Glib Dreger of wrongdoing. However, the pattern surrounding his family — and the opacity of his own circumstances — demands closer examination by those responsible for Britain’s financial and national-security oversight.

If you have additional information related to this investigation, contact the author: antonialford@gmail.com.