The High Court of England has ruled in favor of “PrivatBank,” requiring former owners of the financial institution, Ihor Kolomoisky and Hennadiy Boholyubov, to pay over $3 billion. This amount pertains to compensation for losses, interest, and legal costs incurred by the bank prior to its nationalization in 2016.
This is reported by Finway
Court Details and Financial Obligations
The court determined that the principal amount of damages to be paid by the defendants is $1,761,957,792. Additionally, Kolomoisky and Boholyubov must pay interest amounting to $1,190,083,824, as well as an advance payment to cover the bank’s costs of £76.4 million (approximately $99.6 million).
The former owners petitioned the court to allow an appeal and to stay the enforcement of this ruling pending its consideration. However, both requests were denied. Now, all specified amounts must be paid by November 24, 2025. In case of delay, additional interest will accrue.
Case History and Nationalization
If they refuse to voluntarily pay the specified amounts, “PrivatBank” intends to initiate enforcement proceedings against the assets of Kolomoisky and Boholyubov. In July of this year, the bank reported an “undisputed victory” in the English court against the former shareholders.
“The principal amount of damages to be paid to ‘PrivatBank’ has been determined by the court to be $1 billion 761 million 957 thousand 792. The court also ordered Kolomoisky and Boholyubov to pay interest amounting to $1 billion 190 million 83 thousand 824 and to make an advance payment to cover PrivatBank’s costs of £76.4 million ($99 million 575 thousand 371),” the statement reads.
The lawsuit against the former owners was filed in December 2017, a year after nationalization. According to the bank, in 2013-2014, Kolomoisky and Boholyubov withdrew approximately $1.9 billion through fictitious loans and forged trade documents to accounts of companies they controlled in the UK.
“PrivatBank” is the largest banking institution in Ukraine. Before nationalization, its main shareholders were Ihor Kolomoisky (49.98%) and Hennadiy Boholyubov (41.58%), who together controlled over 91.5% of the shares. The remaining 8.5% belonged to minority shareholders, including the bank’s management led by Oleksandr Dubilet.
In December 2016, the Ukrainian government, with the support of the National Bank and shareholders, decided to nationalize “PrivatBank.” After the bank was transferred to state ownership, the state spent over 155 billion hryvnias on its recapitalization.
According to estimates from the National Bank of Ukraine, the former owners caused the bank losses of at least $5.5 billion. Ihor Kolomoisky has repeatedly referred to these figures as “nonsense.” In recent years, Ukrainian authorities have been conducting legal proceedings against the former shareholders of “PrivatBank” in both domestic and foreign courts.