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This is not only about our relations with the International Monetary Fund, but also about trust in our judiciary.
The team of Ukraine's President-elect Volodymyr Zelensky are aware of the negative implications for Ukraine as a result of a court ruling on PrivatBank denationalization, considering it appropriate to begin transformations in the country from the judicial system.
That's according to Oleksandr Danyliuk, who is a former finance minister and now an advisor to the president-elect.
"We are all aware of the consequences of such decisions: it is not only about our relations with the International Monetary Fund, but also about trust, at least in the judicial power," Danyliuk said, speaking at an investment conference organized by Concorde Capital in Kyiv.
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According to him, such court rulings were beneficial both to the former owners of the bank, defending their interests, and the outgoing president, Petro Poroshenko, as they give him grounds to criticize the authorities ahead of parliamentary elections.
"As for the new team, we can only make one conclusion: we must start with judicial reform. This is what needs to be done first. There is only one way out – to remove the emotional aspect and initiate the reform of the judiciary," added Danyliuk.
In his opinion, the courts' decisions on the bank must be closely monitored.
UNIAN memo. The Cabinet of Ministers in December 2016 decided to nationalize PrivatBank, guided by the recommendations of the National Security and Defense Council. Before nationalization, the key shareholders of the bank were businessman Ihor Kolomoisky and his partner Gennadiy Bogolyubov.
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On April 18, 2019, Kyiv's District Administrative Court declared unlawful and overturned the NBU decision on PrivatBank nationalization and the one on the list of affiliated entities, which was became grounds for converting obligations before them into shares.
On April 20, the Pechersk District Court of Kyiv decided to terminate Kolomoisky's contract of guarantee on PrivatBank's refinancing loans obtained prior to nationalization.
According to a joint statement of the NBU, the Ministry of Finance, and PrivatBank, the return of the financial institution to its former owners is impossible, and the court’s decision will be appealed.
Ukraine’s international partners, including the International Monetary Fund, the European Union, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the World Bank, and the U.S. Embassy, made statements supporting nationalization of PrivatBank.