Former owners of PrivatBank lost a court case in London: what compensation should Kolomoisky and Boholyubov pay?
10 November 16:51
The English High Court has ruled that the former owners of PrivatBank, Ihor Kolomoisky and Gennadiy Boholyubov, must pay the bank more than USD 3 billion in compensation and legal costs. This is one of the largest decisions of this type in the history of British justice concerning Ukrainian assets. This was reported by the bank’s press service, "Komersant Ukrainian" reports.
The principal amount of damages is $1.76 billion, with more than $1.19 billion in accrued interest. The court also ordered the former owners to make an advance payment of £76.4 million (about $100 million) to cover the bank’s legal costs.
The court dismissed the appeal
The court denied Kolomoisky and Boholyubov the right to appeal and to suspend the execution of the judgment.
Thus, all amounts must be paid by November 24, 2025. In case of non-payment, interest will continue to accrue on the debt, and Privatbank will have the right to enforce the recovery of assets in any jurisdiction.
What the court decision says
Judge Trauer called the defendants’ positions “implausible and based on deliberate lies”.
In his opinion, Bogolyubov tried to “distance himself from the fraudulent actions,” but this was “deeply misleading and dishonest.”
At the same time, the court ruled that “the position of both defendants was intended to mislead the court” and their behavior was the basis for a decision in favor of the bank on the terms of “full compensation” .
What it means for Privatbank
“PrivatBank called the court’s decision a “landmark step” in its long-running struggle to recover funds withdrawn before the nationalization of the financial institution in 2016.
The assets of both former owners have remained under worldwide arrest since December 2017.
The bank said that if they do not comply with the decision voluntarily, they will immediately initiate a procedure for the enforcement of Kolomoisky’s and Bogolyubov’s assets.
As a reminder, in July 2025, the High Court of England already ruled in favor of Privatbank in a case to recover more than $2 billion.
This paved the way for further lawsuits against the former owners for withdrawing funds before nationalization.
“PrivatBank remains the country’s largest bank: in 9M2025, its net profit amounted to UAH 50.6 billion, up 15% year-on-year.
