Supreme Court postpones verdict on Privatbank Surkis bail-in

The Supreme Court of Ukraine ruled on Apr. 27 to
postpone a cassation hearing on the bail-in case of Surkis family deposits in
Privatbank (PRBANK), Interfax-Ukraine reported, citing a court representative.
The decision to postpone was owing to “pressure on the judges via mass media,”
including articles and comments in social media, the source said. Recall, after
a hearing on the case on Mar. 16, the court decided to take a break for an indefinite period,
later scheduling the next session for Apr. 27.

The Surkis family won court cases against the bail-in
of its deposits (about UAH 1.1 bln) in first- and second-tier courts in 2017,
while the bank and the government appealed such rulings to the Supreme Court.
The court’s verdict is anticipated by an appellate court in Kyiv, which is
hearing a complaint of former Privatbank owner Ihor Kolomoisky to recognize as
illegal the decision of the government to declare the bank insolvent and
nationalize it in December 2016.

Alexander Paraschiy: Apparently, there is political and economic motivation behind the
court’s decision to postpone the verdict announcement. Namely, the Supreme
Court’s verdict in favor of the Surkis family on Apr. 27 would have increased
the chance that Kolomoisky would soon win his hearing in the appellate court,
which would be a critical step in returning Privatbank to his ownership. In
such case, there would be no chance for cooperation with the IMF, and Ukraine
would have no choice but to default on its external (and possibly internal)
debts. The postponement of the verdict, therefore, gives more time for
parliament to approve a special law (the so-called anti-Kolomoisky bill) that would prevent the return of Privatbank to
Kolomoisky, even in the event a court verdict rules against the state.