REUTERS
The investigation was initiated at the request of judges of Kyiv's District Administrative Court regarding possible interference by senior state officials.
The Prosecutor General's Office (PGO) of Ukraine has begun a pre-trial investigation regarding the possible pressure of outgoing President Petro Poroshenko on judges in the high-profile PrivatBank case.
The investigation was launched at the request of judges of Kyiv's District Administrative Court regarding possible interference by senior state officials during a meeting of the National Security and Defense Council on April 18, 2019. The probe has been initiated under Part 2 of Article 376 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, according to the press service of Kyiv's District Administrative Court.
Judges of the board who had issued a ruling on PrivatBank de-nationalization said the state authorities, by commenting on their verdict, made statements that constituted a direct threat to the judicial system of Ukraine, an encroachment on its independence and impartiality.
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As UNIAN reported, the Cabinet of Ministers decided to nationalize PrivatBank in December 2016, guided by the recommendations of the National Security and Defense Council. Prior to nationalization, the bank's key shareholders were businessman Ihor Kolomoisky and his partner Hennadiy Boholiubov.
On April 18, 2019, Kyiv's District Administrative Court declared unlawful and overturned the decision made in 2016 to withdraw "insolvent" PrivatBank from the market with the participation of the state.
The same day, President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko at a meeting of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine in connection with the developments around PrivatBank ordered that the government ensure smooth operation of all branches of the state-owned PrivatBank, and called for the relevant agencies to assess first-instance judges, including those hearing the PrivatBank case.