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The nationalization of Privat continues to be questioned
The Kiev Pechersk District Court authorized the forced cancellation of Privatbank funds in favor of the companies of the Surkis brothers.
The nationalization of Privatbank, which took place in 2016, remains the subject of fierce disputes and legal proceedings. On the eve of the Pechersky District Court, it ruled to pay $ 350 million to companies that had previously been recognized as related to the former owners of the bank. The bank is already state-owned and payment for these funds can now fall to taxpayers.
Correspondent.net he understood the situation around Privat.
All connected people
The offshore companies of the Surkis brothers are currently in litigation with Privatbank. When PrivatBank nationalized the state in December 2016. Surkisov were recognized as persons related to former bank owners Igor Kolomoisky and Gennady Bogolyubov, as they are long-term business partners.
All his personal money, as well as funds from the accounts of Surkis companies, were converted into Privat capital, as part of compensation for more than 150 billion UAH, with which the state closed the hole in the bank (the so-called bail-in procedure).
The list “for seizure” also includes $ 250 million from British Surkis companies. Since 2017, they have challenged in court the legality of recognizing them as persons related to the bank’s owners and canceling their funds.
According to an investigation by the Kroll agency, the funds from the deposits of the British companies Surkis turned out to be loans that PrivatBank issued to its related parties in 2008-2010.
Court Innovations
In one of the lawsuits before the Pechersky Court, the Surkisov companies declared an unusual requirement for Ukrainian judicial practice: to force Privatbank to comply with the terms of the agreements as collateral for the main lawsuit. That is, return the money along with the interest even before deciding on the legality of its cancellation.
On September 2, the scandalous judge Sergei Vovk satisfied the plaintiffs’ claims in full. At the same time, Privatbank immediately complained that the case reached this very judge. The state bank said offshore companies associated with the Surkis resorted to manipulating the automated distribution of court cases in favor of Vovk.
“From the point of view of the law, the application should have been rejected, this is what we expect from a fair and intelligent, balanced court … Very strange claims of the plaintiffs, I would say, go beyond common sense, lacking any procedural justification, therefore the consideration itself is somewhat reminiscent of the works of Kafka ”, – commented on the court’s decision, the Minister of Justice of Ukraine, Denis Malyuska.
“This is the first time in the history of our judicial system that a judge was able to change the rules of laws and codes without the Verkhovna Rada,” Andrey Pozhidaev, PrivatBank’s legal adviser said after the meeting. “He could also have decided that the sun is rising in the west, that the Earth is flat and Elon Musk has nowhere else to fly.”
What will happen next?
Privatbank is not going to pay, but has money, if at all.
“As a result of such court decisions, our contribution to the development of the country – our dividends to the state budget – may be significantly reduced,” said the bank’s president, Petr Krumhanzl. “As a result of such court decisions, our contribution to the development of the country – our dividends to the state budget – may decrease significantly -” said Krumhanzl. “In any event, we will continue to seek justice both in Ukraine and in foreign jurisdictions, where the rule of law is paramount.”
Former Finance Minister Alexander Danilyuk called the decision of the Pechersk District Court in favor of the Surkis companies in the $ 350 million dispute as “the beginning of the collapse of the results of the nationalization of Privatbank.”
“Money decides everything! It is absolutely clear that the court was hired by Surkis and Kolomoisky. It is clear that the government must appeal. And the problem is not just about 9 billion hryvnias of taxpayers that Surkis can put in his deep pockets offshore. No! This is the beginning of the collapse. Results of the nationalization of Privatbank. And this will cost ordinary Ukrainians hundreds of billions of hryvnia, “said Danilyuk.
“The beauty of the story is that the court ruled to pay this money without even considering the case in essence. That is, you pay the money, and then we will see if it is necessary or not. I mean, the court ruled that Ukrainians, by definition, owe the oligarchs, ”says financial analyst Serhiy Fursa.
