[5] SCM businesses, the Rinat Akhmetov Foundation, and Shakhtar Football Club have collectively provided $300 million (UAH 10.6 billion) to aid the country, its military, and civilians during nearly three years of war.

"[20] In his documentary book Donetsk Mafia: Anthology,[24] Ukrainian author Serhiy Kuzin claims Akhmetov held the role of a 'mafia thug' in his early years.

[25] According to Hans van Zon, Professor of Central and Eastern European Studies in the University of Sunderland, "As early as 1986, Rinat and his brother Igor were involved in criminal activities.".

[27] In the 1980s, Akhmetov acted as an assistant to Akhat Bragin, whom law enforcement agencies regarded as a powerful crime boss,[19] allegedly in the illegal cloth trading business.

[26] Andrew Wilson, a scholar specializing in Ukrainian politics, categorized Akhmetov as an alleged former 'enforcer' and 'leader' of "[Akhat] Bragin's 'Tatar' clan", responsible for the use of "mafia methods to push aside the 'red directors' of the Industrial Union of Donbas (ISD)".

[22] "In [the 1990s], Akhmetov was very different – he was totally private with no public persona, and was trying to find ways to deal with his 'difficult past'", noted U.S. ambassador William Taylor, citing prominent Ukrainian businessman Serhiy Taruta.

Ambassador to Ukraine, Geoffrey R. Pyatt who stated that he highly appreciates the efforts of Rinat Akhmetov “who has done probably more than anyone in this country to deliver food and clothes to victims of the violence occurring in Donbas”.

[38] In 2011, Hennadiy Moskal, who in 2005 acted as the Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, gave an interview to Ukrainian magazine Профиль (profil-ua), where he claimed to have been under Presidential orders in 2005 to investigate and audit Akhmetov for his alleged role in organized crime.

[46] The main assets of Rinat Akhmetov, according to information for 2022, include the following companies:[47] According to Serhiy Holovnev and Yuriy Vinnichuk, in 2018 SCM enterprises paid ₴90.2 billion, or 22.6% of all tax revenues to the government budget of Ukraine.

[36][35] Following the Orange Revolution, Akhmetov was pivotal in arranging a lasting relationship between his employee and close friend Paul Manafort and defeated presidential candidate Viktor Yanukovich.

[112] U.S. diplomatic cables revealed that Akhmetov posted $2 million bail in 2007 for the release of three members of the Party of Regions, including former Sumy Governor Volodymyr Shcherban, who was accused of election rigging, extortion, tax evasion and abuse of office.

[123] The package includes flour, sugar, cereals, oats, tinned foods, sunflower oil, stew, pasta, canned corn, gingerbreads and condensed milk.

[126] Continued protests throughout 2017 led to allegations of corruption and profiteering between Akhmetov and President Petro Poroshenko, specifically over pricing for domestic coal suppliers and the buyout of DTEK debts by the government.

According to the SAPO, the investigation of suspects was closed as Rotterdam+ had not generated any losses[128] In November 2021 Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky accused Akhmetov of being enlisted to help plan a coup against him by Russia.

[133] Akhmetov announced on 11 July 2022 that he would surrender licences of top television channels to the government and shut down both print and internet media to comply with so-called “de-oligarchisation” legislation aimed at curbing the influence of oligarchs.

[139] SCM businesses, the Rinat Akhmetov Foundation and Shakhtar Football Club have sent more than $223 million to help the country, the military and civilians during the 24 months of the full-scale invasion.

[141][142] On February 22, as hundreds took to the streets of Mariupol to protest Russia's actions, Akhmetov announced SCM would pay ₴1 billion ($34 million) in taxes in advance to shore up state finances.

[148] In December 2022, the Washington Post called Mr Akhmetov Ukraine's biggest private donor during the war, who provided over $100 million in military and humanitarian aid, "from drones to food".

[20] One year into the war, in February 2023, the SCM businesses, the Rinat Akhmetov Foundation and the Shakhtar football club provided assistance to Ukraine, the military and civilians for $150 million in goods and services, including infrastructure repair and energy supplies.

Assistance reached more than 18 million people across the country and includes body armor, vehicles, equipment and fortifications for the Ukrainian Defence Forces, medicines and other humanitarian aid for civilians, and efforts to keep critical infrastructure up and running.

[156] It hands over food packages, hygiene kits, and medicines to Dnipropetrovsk, Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk, Kirovohrad, Kherson, and Odesa regions, taking care of shelters, and supporting local administrations.

As of 24 February 2024 Rinat Akhmetov's Steel Front initiative donated more than 5000 drones,[158] 1200 cars and special vehicles,[158] more than 200,000 body armour items, including 170,000 bulletproof vests, 1,1 million litres of fuel[159] to the Armed Forces of Ukraine, territorial defenders, and communities.

[169] Shakhtar Donetsk, the football club sponsored by Akhmetov, opened this year Shelter Center at the Arena Lviv, since then it has received more than 2,000 internal migrants from different regions of Ukraine.

Metinvest, through «Steel Front» initiative, established the serial production and supply of anti-mine trawls for tanks that assist counteroffensives to the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

[189] At the same time, Metinvest has donated 10 high-speed boats, 12 trailers for their transportation and 800 self-inflating life jackets worth a total of UAH53 million to help the armed forces to resist the enemy on the water.

[190] Metinvest has launched the mass production of engineered structures that act as “lancet catchers” to protect the valuable military equipment of the Armed Forces of Ukraine from enemy drone attacks.

[210] Akhmetov was asked by the Washington Post about his vision of Ukraine after the war, he called for a “new Marshall Plan” of hundreds of billions of dollars in investment and a country remade in the image of the West.

[231] In March 2017, a spokesperson for Akhmetov's foundation reported that humanitarian aid had been discontinued in the region after rebel organizations blocked access to the Shakhtar FC stadium, which serves as a center for relief efforts in the area.

After meeting with the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky, he began to oversee a number of regions (Donetsk, Ivano-Frankivsk, Luhansk and Lviv Oblast) and individual cities (Kryvyi Rih).

"[23] In 2008, a judgment was obtained from the High Court of Justice in London after Obozrevatel, a Ukrainian language Internet publication refused to retract false and libelous statements alleging that Mr. Akhmetov was connected to criminal activity and violence.