The High Court in London has ruled that the former owners of PrivatBank CB JSC, Ihor Kolomoyskyi and Gennadiy Bogolyubov, misappropriated nearly USD 2 billion of the bank’s funds through a refinancing scheme.
The relevant statement was made by PrivatBank’s press service, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.
“In a judgment delivered today, the High Court in London has ruled that the two individuals misappropriated almost USD 2 billion of the Bank’s funds through a highly sophisticated refinancing scheme that operated in the interests of the Individual Defendants, i.e. Mr. Kolomoyskyi and Mr. Bogolyubov,” the report states.
The judge rejected Kolomoyskyi’s and Bogolyubov’s claims that there was no evidence of their involvement in these transactions, having found that their denials were completely based on dishonest grounds. The court also determined that Kolomoyskyi “appeared to consider himself above the law” and that Bogolyubov used misleading documents.
The full amount of the former owners’ liability to the bank has yet to be determined, but given that the court has granted PrivatBank’s claims in full, they will likely be required to pay over USD 1.7 billion, even without interest. The total amount, including interest and legal fees, is likely to significantly exceed USD 2 billion.
As noted by the bank, none of the former owners testified during the 2023 trial, with Kolomoyskyi spending part of that period under temporary arrest in Ukraine. The judge found that their refusal to testify was due to concerns about questions about their role in the misappropriation of funds.
According to Hogan Lovells Partner Richard Lewis, who represented the Bank’s interests in court, this trial was one of the most challenging ever to take place in English courts. The Bank provided the court with significant evidence of how billions of dollars were misappropriated by Mr. Kolomoyskyi and Mr. Bogolyubov.
Ukrainian Prime Minister Yuliia Svyrydenko also welcomed the court’s decision.
“This is an undeniable victory. Ukraine consistently protects the interests of its citizens and stands for the truth. This decision demonstrates that the state is able to successfully defend its interests in the international arena,” Svyrydenko emphasized.
Currently, PrivatBank and its legal advisors are moving to the stage of recovering damages and will attempt to enforce the court’s decision against the assets of the former owners.
Source: PrivatBank wins multibillion lawsuit against Kolomoyskyi, Bogolyubov
