The Supreme Court has put an end to the dispute over the Salut Hotel
11 February 00:28
The Supreme Court, acting as the Commercial Court of Cassation, has issued a final ruling in favor of the private joint-stock company Hotel Salut in a dispute over the legality of the actions of a state enforcement officer. The court ruled that the opening of enforcement proceedings for the compulsory execution of the decision to grant consent for the sale of the debtor’s property was unlawful. This was reported by the law firm Ilyashev & Partners, which represented the interests of PJSC Hotel Salut, according to "Komersant Ukrainian".
The relevant ruling was handed down by the court of cassation on January 16, 2026. The decision is final and cannot be appealed.
Background:
In 2008, PJSC Hotel Salut entered into a mortgage agreement with the NBU to secure refinancing loans provided to Bank Finance and Credit, whose main shareholder was Kostyantyn Zhevago. After the bank failed to fulfill its obligations and was declared insolvent, the NBU filed a lawsuit in November 2016.
In May 2018, the Commercial Court of Kyiv opened bankruptcy proceedings against Hotel Salut. The initiator was PJSC Rosava, which is associated with Zhevago. The property disposal procedure lasted more than seven years, and no restructuring plans were submitted.
On June 30, 2025, the court declared PJSC Hotel Salut bankrupt due to debts of UAH 5.4 billion and opened liquidation proceedings for a period of one year under the supervision of arbitration manager Vadym Kizlenko.
The largest creditor is the NBU with claims of UAH 4.2 billion secured by collateral. The debtor’s main asset is the hotel building at 11b Ivana Mazepy Street in Kyiv, which was planned to be sold to repay the debt.
The Supreme Court denied the NBU’s request for foreclosure
In 2023, the Supreme Court finally denied the National Bank of Ukraine’s attempt to foreclose on the Salut hotel building.
The report states that the court found the NBU’s actions to be unlawful in relation to the debtor, which is in bankruptcy proceedings, and formed an approach to satisfying the claims of mortgagees in such cases.
The NBU insisted on the sale of the mortgaged property
Disagreeing with the position of the Supreme Court, the National Bank of Ukraine filed a motion to approve the sale of the debtor’s mortgaged property — non-residential hotel buildings — to repay debts under loan agreements in the amount of over UAH 4 billion.
The courts of first and appellate instances ruled to grant consent to the forced sale of the hotel property at public auction.
Appeal against the actions of the state executor: what the Supreme Court decided
Vadym Kizlenko, a lawyer, advisor, and co-head of the bankruptcy and financial restructuring practice at Ilyashev & Partners Law Firm, who is managing the hotel’s liquidation procedure, appealed in cassation against the actions of the state enforcement officer in the enforcement proceedings and the decision to seize the hotel’s property.
The Supreme Court:
- canceled the decisions to open enforcement proceedings and to seize the property of the Salut Hotel;
- recognized as illegal the actions of the state executor regarding the opening of enforcement proceedings, which sought to forcibly sell the debtor’s property.
Reference
The Salut Hotel is a three-star, seven-story hotel in Kyiv. The modernist-style building was constructed in 1984 based on a design by renowned architect Avraam Miletsky.
