London Court Orders Kolomoisky and Bogolyubov to Pay Over $3 Billion to PrivatBank

A court in London, United Kingdom, has ruled against two former Ukrainian oligarchs, Igor Kolomoisky and Gennady Bogolyubov. They are required to pay over $3 billion in favor of the state-owned PrivatBank in a fraud case that caused significant financial losses to the bank.

This is reported by AgroReview

Details of the Court Case and Charges

In 2017, PrivatBank initiated legal proceedings against its former owners. The plaintiff accused Kolomoisky and Bogolyubov of illegally siphoning off over $2.3 billion through affiliated companies, using a complex scheme of loan recycling in 2013-2014. Of this amount, the bank was unable to recover $1.9 billion. The scheme involved three British legal entities and one firm from the British Virgin Islands.

Court Ruling and Further Developments

According to the London court’s ruling, Kolomoisky and Bogolyubov must repay $1.8 billion in principal debt. Additionally, they have been charged $1.2 billion in interest and $99.6 million as an advance payment to cover the bank’s expenses.

The Ukrainian billionaires previously denied all wrongdoing, claiming that the accusations were politically motivated. They appealed the case but did not provide testimony during the trial.

As of now, Igor Kolomoisky has been in custody since September 2023 on suspicion of involvement in other financial crimes and money laundering related to his oil and gas assets. Furthermore, he is involved in several cases, including fraud and contract killing.

Gennady Bogolyubov, for his part, left Ukraine in 2024 to avoid potential criminal prosecution.