PrivatBank loses in $350 million dispute with Surkis brothers

A Ukrainian court ruled on Wednesday that Ukraine's biggest lender PrivatBank must pay back $350 million deposited in the accounts of six non-resident companies before its nationalisation in 2016, the bank said.

The amount included $100 million in interest.

Kyiv's district court handed down its decision before considering the merits of the companies' assertion that their money had been unfairly included in the bail-in when PrivatBank was nationalised.

Ukraine's justice ministry said it would appeal the ruling.

The central bank pronounced PrivatBank insolvent in 2016 and wrote off the assets of its owners and related firms to cover the lender's capital gap. It said PrivatBank was nationalised because shady lending practices had pushed it toward insolvency.

The Kyiv government invested over $5.7 billion to rescue the savings of about 20 million small depositors.

Former shareholders deny any wrongdoing and have fought in different courts since 2016 to reverse the nationalisation.

The government's handling of the fall-out from the nationalisation is seen as a litmus test for President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's anti-corruption reform agenda and willingness to tackle deep-rooted vested interests.