Latest news with #Kolomoisky
Bangkok Post
30-07-2025
- Business
- Bangkok Post
UK court says oligarch looted $1.9bn from Ukrainian bank
LONDON - The Ukrainian oligarch Igor Kolomoisky and his former business partner are likely to be forced to repay $1.9 billion that they 'unlawfully' appropriated from a Ukrainian bank they owned, London's High Court ruled Wednesday. Judge William Trower found that Kolomoisky and Gennadiy Bogolyubov extracted more than $1.9 billion from PrivatBank, Ukraine's largest bank, in a 'highly complex loan recycling scheme' between 2013 and 2014. He added that the men were jointly liable to compensate the bank $1,911,877,385 less the real value of assets such as real estate, petrol stations and aircraft that were provided to the lender to reduce outstanding balances. The two men must agree on that figure with the bank, along with the lost interest due to the lender, in coming up with the final compensation package. If it cannot be agreed, the court will decide at a later date. The bank successfully argued that the two men acquired it in order to advance 'sham loans' to 50 shell companies — 47 in Ukraine in three in Cyprus — 'with no business activity and no genuine credit or trading history'. Each of the borrowing entities was 'owned and/or controlled by one or both of the individual defendants', it said. 'Amounts were then transferred, either directly or indirectly after one or more intermediate recycling transactions, to the corporate defendants' accounts,' it added. The bank, which was nationalised in 2016, wanted to sue the two men in England, in part to obtain the benefit of freezing orders. It therefore had to focus its claim on three English shell companies alleged to be involved in the scheme. Kolomoisky, 62, is one of Ukraine's richest people and a former supporter of President Volodymyr Zelensky. Zelensky has long-standing links to Kolomoisky, whose media empire aired the former actor's popular Servant of the People sitcom and backed his presidential campaign. But Zelensky has vowed to fight corruption since Russia invaded in 2022, and Kolomoisky is currently in prison after being detained on suspicion of fraud and money laundering in September 2023. He is also suspected of organising a contract killing and has been stripped of his Ukrainian citizenship. In 2021, the United States banned Kolomoisky and his family from entry, with the State Department saying that as governor of the eastern Dnipro region between 2014 and 2015 he was involved in 'significant corruption'.
France 24
30-07-2025
- Business
- France 24
London court rules oligarch liable over $1.9 bn Ukraine loan scheme
Judge William Trower found that Kolomoisky and Gennadiy Bogolyubov extracted more than $1.9 billion from PrivatBank, Ukraine's largest bank, in a "highly complex loan recycling scheme" between 2013 and 2014. He added that the men were jointly liable to compensate the bank $1,911,877,385 less the real value of assets such as real estate, petrol stations and aircraft that were provided to the lender to reduce outstanding balances. The two men must agree that figure with the bank, along with the lost interest due to the lender, in coming up with the final compensation package. If it cannot be agreed, the court will decide at a later date. The bank successfully argued that the two men acquired it in order to advance "sham loans" to 50 shell companies -- 47 in Ukraine in three in Cyprus -- "with no business activity and no genuine credit or trading history". Each of the borrowing entities was "owned and/or controlled by one or both of the individual defendants", it said. "Amounts were then transferred, either directly or indirectly after one or more intermediate recycling transactions, to the corporate defendants' accounts," it added. The bank, which was nationalised in 2016, wanted to sue the two men in England, in part to obtain the benefit of freezing orders. It therefore had to focus its claim on three English shell companies alleged to be involved in the scheme. Kolomoisky, 62, is one of Ukraine's richest people and a former supporter of President Volodymyr Zelensky. Zelensky has long-standing links to Kolomoisky, whose media empire aired his popular "Servant of the People" show and backed his presidential campaign. But Zelensky has vowed to fight corruption since Russia invaded in 2022, and Kolomoisky is currently in prison after being detained on suspicion of fraud and money laundering in September 2023. He is also suspected of organising a contract killing and has been stripped of his Ukrainian citizenship. In 2021, the United States banned Kolomoisky and his family from entry, with the State Department saying that as governor of the eastern Dnipro region between 2014 and 2015 he was involved in "significant corruption".
Int'l Business Times
30-07-2025
- Business
- Int'l Business Times
London Court Rules Oligarch Liable Over $1.9 Bn Ukraine Loan Scheme
The Ukrainian oligarch Igor Kolomoisky and his former business partner are likely to be forced to repay $1.9 billion that they "unlawfully" appropriated from a Ukrainian bank they owned, London's High Court ruled Wednesday. Judge William Trower found that Kolomoisky and Gennadiy Bogolyubov extracted more than $1.9 billion from PrivatBank, Ukraine's largest bank, in a "highly complex loan recycling scheme" between 2013 and 2014. He added that the men were jointly liable to compensate the bank $1,911,877,385 less the real value of assets such as real estate, petrol stations and aircraft that were provided to the lender to reduce outstanding balances. The two men must agree that figure with the bank, along with the lost interest due to the lender, in coming up with the final compensation package. If it cannot be agreed, the court will decide at a later date. The bank successfully argued that the two men acquired it in order to advance "sham loans" to 50 shell companies -- 47 in Ukraine in three in Cyprus -- "with no business activity and no genuine credit or trading history". Each of the borrowing entities was "owned and/or controlled by one or both of the individual defendants", it said. "Amounts were then transferred, either directly or indirectly after one or more intermediate recycling transactions, to the corporate defendants' accounts," it added. The bank, which was nationalised in 2016, wanted to sue the two men in England, in part to obtain the benefit of freezing orders. It therefore had to focus its claim on three English shell companies alleged to be involved in the scheme. Kolomoisky, 62, is one of Ukraine's richest people and a former supporter of President Volodymyr Zelensky. Zelensky has long-standing links to Kolomoisky, whose media empire aired his popular "Servant of the People" show and backed his presidential campaign. But Zelensky has vowed to fight corruption since Russia invaded in 2022, and Kolomoisky is currently in prison after being detained on suspicion of fraud and money laundering in September 2023. He is also suspected of organising a contract killing and has been stripped of his Ukrainian citizenship. In 2021, the United States banned Kolomoisky and his family from entry, with the State Department saying that as governor of the eastern Dnipro region between 2014 and 2015 he was involved in "significant corruption".
Mint
30-07-2025
- Business
- Mint
Tycoons Lose UK Suit Over $1.9 Billion Ukrainian Bank Fraud
Ukrainian tycoons lost a long awaited London court ruling over a fraud that cost the state-owned lender Privatbank PJSC billions of dollars. The bank sued the ex-billionaires Igor Kolomoisky and Gennady Bogolyubov in 2017 alleging the former owners funneled $1.9 billion through 'sham' loans and trade documents to secretly owned companies in England and British Virgin Islands between 2013 and 2014. Kolomoisky and Bogolyubov ran 'a highly complex loan recycling scheme' and are liable 'to the bank for compensation for the harm it sustained,' Judge William Trower said in the ruling published Wednesday. The court will determine the precise amount they owe at a further hearing. The bank was forced to take a bailout and nationalized in 2016. The verdict is crucial for Ukraine as the country reckons with its historic links to a handful of powerful oligarchs. The ruling comes as anti-corruption protests spread in Ukraine following the parliament's and President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's attempt to rein in anti-graft agencies. Kolomoisky, an industrial and media magnate, helped Zelenskiy's former career as a TV comic and also gave him a platform to pitch for the country's top political job. The pair though have lost much of their influence in Ukraine amid ongoing legal pressure. Kolomoisky is currently being held in a detention center, standing trial on various charges ranging from fraud to contract murder, while Bogolyubov fled Ukraine last year in anticipation of criminal charges against him. The tycoons previously denied all allegations of wrongdoing saying the claims were politically motivated. They contested the case, though neither testified at the trial. The case against them was 'hopelessly vague,' Kolomoisky's lawyers said during the trial. Their lawyers didn't immediately respond to emails for comment. Kolomoisky and Bogolyubov's global assets were frozen by the UK courts in 2017. Their assets were spread over at least 33 jurisdictions, the bank's lawyer told the court on Wednesday after the ruling. 'These defendants will move assets to keep them away from the bank,' the bank's lawyer Tim Akkouh said. 'The evidence presented has clearly confirmed today's conclusion that billions of dollars were unlawfully misappropriated through a prolonged and systematic fraudulent scheme — validating our decision to pursue this claim with determination over many years,' Nils Melngailis, chairman of PrivatBank's supervisory board, said. With assistance from Daryna Krasnolutska. This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
