Kolomoisky plans to demand USD 2 bln for Privatbank nationalization

Oligarch Igor
Kolomoisky, whose assets are in Ukraine but who himself resides in Israel, said
that he continues to view the 2016 nationalization of Privatbank (PRBANK) as
illegal expropriation by the state. “In the case of Privatbank, its
shareholders have been robbed,” he said in an interview with the epravda.com.ua
news site published on Apr. 8. Kolomoisky said he will seek compensation from
the state rather than returning his stake in the bank, which was
41.6% before the nationalization. “USD 2 bln of capital laid there. Let them return it, and
no questions asked,” he said. Under a possible new president, Kolomoisky said
he will count on a “fair court and fair legal assessment”
of Privatbank nationalization,
which he said “is impossible” under the current Poroshenko presidency. 

Recall, Privatbank
was declared insolvent in December 2016, after which the government bailed in
USD 1.1 bln of the bank’s liabilities (including USD 0.55 bln Eurobonds) and
nationalized the bank, contributing an additional UAH 155.3 bln (USD 5.9 bln)
into its equity.

Igor Kolomoisky has
close business ties to comedian and actor Volodymyr Zelenskiy, who is the
favorite to be elected Ukraine’s president in the runoff vote scheduled for
Apr. 21.

Alexander
Paraschiy: We do not
believe in the prospect for any sizable compensation to Kolomoisky from the
state for Privatbank’s alleged “expropriation,” even under a Zelenskiy
presidency. At the same time, we do see a solid chance for Kolomoisky, who is
among the holders of Privatbank Eurobonds, to secure recovery of the bonds that
were bailed in. In other words, the probability that the defaulted Eurobonds of
Privatbank will be recovered looks much higher under a Zelenskiy presidency
(refer also to our Mar. 19 report on elections implications).