The number of bankrupt people in Ukraine has almost doubled over the past 4 months
21 October 2024 14:06
651 bankruptcy cases have been opened in Ukraine this year. The number of cases has almost doubled since the beginning of summer. This is reported by "Komersant Ukrainian" with reference to data from Opendatabot.
Currently, more bankruptcy cases have been opened against Ukrainians than in the whole of last year: 575 such cases were considered then.
The number of bankruptcy cases of people:
| Year | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number of cases | 22 | 183 | 496 | 374 | 575 | 651 |
The age of bankrupts
Most often, people aged 25 to 45 apply to declare themselves insolvent – 64.1% of bankrupts. Another 28.7% are over 45 years old.
Age of people who filed for bankruptcy:
| Under 25 | 47 | 7.2% |
|---|---|---|
| 25-45 years old | 417 | 64.1% |
| Older than 45 | 187 | 28.7% |
51% of bankrupts are women, and another 48% are men.
Where are the most bankrupts
The largest number of bankrupts is in Kyiv: 95 cases or 15% of the total.
Kyiv region follows with 58 or 9%.
Dnipropetrovs’k region closes the top 3 with 53 cases, which is 8% of the total.
Denys Lykhopiok, Insolvency Receiver, believes that the current dynamics is likely to be a “pent-up demand” rather than a rapid growth caused by any one factor.
“It should be understood that at the beginning of the full-scale war, people did not have time to deal with debts – they were focused on survival. At the same time, there was a moratorium on the collection of most debts in enforcement proceedings for more than a year. Even after the moratorium was lifted, private and public bailiffs reminded debtors of their obligations,” explains Lykhopiok, attorney-at-law, insolvency officer, member of the Qualification Commission of Insolvency Officers, and bankruptcy specialist.
This factor, according to the insolvency officer, has prompted many citizens to seek ways out of difficult financial situations through insolvency proceedings.
Mr Lykhopyok also stressed that Ukraine is currently developing a positive court practice in bankruptcy matters.
It is worth noting that the Verkhovna Rada allowed citizens to become bankrupt in October 2018. The procedure became fully operational in 2019. Since then, a person in a difficult financial situation can initiate bankruptcy and, after going through the entire procedure, get rid of debts.
