Court of Appeal confirms Kolomoiskyi not to regain control over PrivatBank

The Northern Commercial Court of Appeal in the city of Kyiv has closed the proceedings on the lawsuit of the former shareholders of PrivatBank, Ihor Kolomoiskyi and the Cypriot company, Triantal Investments Ltd, regarding the return of the state-owned bank, PrivatBank, to its former owners.

This is reported by Ukrinform, referring to PrivatBank.

“Today [September 10, 2024 – Ed.], the court has closed the proceedings in the case on the lawsuit of Ihor Kolomoiskyi and Triantal Investments Ltd. In this case, the plaintiffs challenged the purchase and sale agreement of PrivatBank shares, which had been concluded as part of the nationalization procedure, and also demanded the return of PrivatBank shares to their ownership,” PrivatBank’s lawyer, Viktor Tarasenkov, told.

The court’s decision is based on the Law of Ukraine ‘On the Deposit Guarantee System’, which clearly states that bank shares cannot be returned to their former owners after being sold to an investor.

Prior to the nationalization procedure, 41.7% of PrivatBank shares used to be held by Kolomoiskyi and 16.6% – by Triantal Investments Ltd.

The relevant court decisions strengthen the position of the state in PrivatBank’s case and confirm the legal nature of its nationalization procedure.

A reminder that, on November 27, 2023, the Commercial Court in the city of Kyiv closed proceedings in a similar case on the lawsuit of another ex-owner of the bank, Hennadii Boholiubov.

On November 15, 2023, the Sixth Administrative Court of Appeal confirmed that it was impossible to cancel the decisions and agreements concluded as part of PrivatBank’s nationalization procedure.

On May 7, 2024, the Commercial Court in the city of Kyiv confirmed that it was impossible  to return the state-owned bank, PrivatBank, to its former owners.