The Supreme Court in a written proceeding upheld the cassation appeals of the Cabinet of Ministers and PrivatBank in case No. 757/7499/17 on the claim of six non-resident companies close to the Surkis family against state-owned PrivatBank, the Ministry of Finance and the Government to recover almost USD 350 million from PrivatBank.
Thus, the legality of the bail-in procedure was once again confirmed and the rule of law principles were upheld. The Supreme Court has prevented the recovery of a large sum from a state-owned bank, one of the largest taxpayers in the country.
"We welcome this decision of the Supreme Court. The victory in this case is not just a joint legal success for PrivatBank and the Cabinet of Ministers, it is a confirmation that the rule of law and justice are the foundation of a democratic society. At PrivatBank, we have always stood by the principles of integrity and legality, and this case underscores our commitment to these values. We expect the same results in other high-profile cases," said Gerhard Bösch, Chairman of the Board of PrivatBank.
The Surkis' offshore case has been under consideration since 2017, and the Supreme Court has been hearing it since 2020. In 2024, the hearings resumed, but the bank's opponents repeatedly challenged the judges on the panel. On March 20, the Court was unable to start hearing the case as two of the five judges on the panel were recused. After a new division of the case, the automated system identified the other two judges and set the date of the hearing for March 27. However, the opponents filed another challenge, which was rejected. The cassation appeal of the Cabinet of Ministers and PrivatBank was granted.
"This case is the most daring court decision in the Bank's history. For the first time in the history of Ukraine, we are talking about the recovery of funds on the basis of a court order to secure a claim. The purpose of court actions over the years is not fair justice, but only the recovery of funds from the state-owned bank in an illegal manner without a decision on the merits of the dispute. PrivatBank welcomes the fair and impartial decision of the Supreme Court," PrivatBank's lawyers said. They hope that this high-profile case will have consequences for those involved in the odious decisions to secure the claim. And attempts of such daring unfair actions will not be repeated against the bank.
As a reminder, at the end of 2016, during the nationalization of PrivatBank, funds placed by non-resident companies (CAMERIN INVESTMENTS LLP, SUNNEX INVESTMENTS LLP, TAMPLEMON INVESTMENTS LLP, BERLINI COMMERCIAL LLP, LUMIL INVESTMENTS LLP, SOFINAM INVESTMENTS LLP) related to the former owners of the bank, on the deposit accounts of the bank's Cyprus branch were included in the bail-in procedure, as the National Bank of Ukraine recognized the Surkis family as related parties to PrivatBank.
In addition to two lawsuits in Ukrainian courts of different jurisdictions (Pecherskyi District Court of Kyiv and the Sixth Administrative Court of Appeal), non-resident companies associated with the Surkis family are also trying to obtain the necessary decision in a court in Cyprus (case No. 2510/2017).
