Kyiv court rules PrivatBank's nationalization illegal

Kyiv's District Administrative Court has satisfied the claim of Ukrainian businessman Ihor Kolomoisky vs the National Bank of Ukraine and the Cabinet of Ministers regarding the nationalization of PJSC CB PrivatBank.

According to the court's press service, "having considered at the court hearing the case under the claim of Ihor Kolomoisky vs the National Bank of Ukraine, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, the Deposit Guarantee Fund, and the National Commission on Securities and Stock Market, the court declared the decisions of defendants unlawful, which resulted in the nationalization of PJSC CB PrivatBank, and declared invalid the contract for the sale of bank's shares since its conclusion with the state."

The consideration of this case lasted from June 2017.

"Such a long period of consideration of the case is due to the general burden on judges in consideration of administrative cases and the need to study a significant amount of evidence in the case, amounting to over 50 volumes," the court said.

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Such a ruling was handed down, among other things, due to the defendants' failure to prove that there have been due reasons to classify PrivatBank as insolvent, as a result of which the procedure for its nationalization was subsequently initiated, and the actual violation of the procedure for nationalizing the bank, regulated at the legislative level.

Thus, the court recognized the procedure of nationalization of PJSC CB PrivatBank wa unjustified and such that was carried out with numerous violations of legislation in force at that time, resulting in unlawful state intervention in the right of the bank's shareholders, including the plaintiff, to peacefully own property belonging to him, which is a violation of both the requirements of national legislation, including the Constitution of Ukraine, and the provisions of international standards in this area.