The British Supreme Court denied Kolomoyskyi's appeal in the $3 billion PrivatBank case
On November 4, 2026, the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom denied a request by the former owners of PrivatBank, Ihor Kolomoyskyi and Hennadiy Boholyubov, to further appeal the decision to recover more than $3 billion in favor of the state-owned bank. Consequently, the ruling ordering the payment remains in effect, and PrivatBank is preparing to proceed with enforcement proceedings.
The British court did not grant the businessmen the opportunity to continue their legal challenge, so no further consideration of their claims in this case is anticipated.
The court issued the relevant ruling on October 29, 2026. Information regarding the denial of leave to appeal was published in the Supreme Court’s official register on November 3. Specifically, this concerns two cases: UKSC/2026/0102, based on a complaint filed by Ihor Kolomoyskyi, and UKSC/2026/0125, based on a complaint filed by Hennadiy Boholyubov.
The British court explained that the petitions filed by the former owners of PrivatBank do not raise questions of general public importance that would require consideration by the Supreme Court. Consequently, the previous rulings of the British courts remain in effect, and the defendants have exhausted all avenues to appeal them within the British judicial system.
How Much Must the Bank’s Former Owners Pay?
According to the High Court of England’s ruling dated November 10, 2025, Ihor Kolomoyskyi and Gennadiy Bogolyubov are required to pay PrivatBank more than $3 billion. The amount consists of several parts.
The principal amount of damages is $1,761,957,792. In addition, the court ordered the former owners to pay $1,190,083,824 in interest. A separate advance payment of 76.4 million pounds sterling is required to cover PrivatBank’s legal costs, which amounted to approximately $99.6 million at the time the decision was rendered.
Furthermore, the court provided for the continued accrual of interest in the event of a delay in complying with the ruling. Therefore, the final amount to be paid by the defendants may be higher.
It should also be noted that the bank’s former owners were initially required to comply with the ruling by November 24, 2025. However, the debt was not voluntarily repaid by the set deadline.
What the British Court Found
The legal proceedings concerned transactions carried out at PrivatBank during 2013–2014, when the financial institution was under the control of Kolomoyskyi and Bogolyubov. According to the case file, significant amounts of funds were siphoned off from the bank through a system of loans to affiliated companies.
In particular, the bank provided loans to companies controlled by the former owners. The funds received were subsequently used to finance the defendants’ other businesses. At the same time, a portion of the previously issued loans was formally repaid using proceeds from new loans. This created the appearance of repayment, although in reality the bank’s funds continued to be misappropriated.
On July 30, 2025, the High Court of England and Wales ruled that Kolomoyskyi and Bogolyubov are jointly and severally liable for the misappropriation of approximately $1.9 billion from PrivatBank, excluding the value of certain assets transferred to the bank. During the proceedings, the defendants insisted that a significant portion of the funds had been returned and that, therefore, the bank had allegedly not suffered any corresponding losses. However, the court rejected these arguments, finding that the use of funds from subsequent unlawful transactions to repay earlier ones did not negate the harm caused to the bank.
On May 22, 2026, the Court of Appeal of England and Wales upheld the lower court’s findings. Kolomoyskyi and Bogolyubov subsequently appealed to the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom but were denied leave to appeal.
Will Ukraine Receive Over $3 Billion?
The decision by the UK Supreme Court paves the way for the further enforcement of court judgments without the risk of their reversal through the standard British appeals process. However, this does not mean that the amount of over $3 billion will automatically and immediately be credited to the bank’s accounts. To recover the funds, enforcement proceedings must be conducted against the defendants’ assets.
If the assets are located outside the UK, separate legal actions may be required in the relevant countries.
Incidentally, back in December 2017, a British court issued an order for a worldwide freeze on the defendants’ assets, intended to prevent their disposal while the case is pending. PrivatBank itself had previously announced its intention to seek enforcement of the court ruling against the assets of its former owners in various jurisdictions.
Background
In December 2016, PrivatBank was nationalized due to capital problems and threats to the financial institution’s stability. The state spent significant budgetary funds to recapitalize it.
A year later, the financial institution filed a lawsuit in the High Court of England against Ihor Kolomoyskyi, Hennadiy Boholyubov, and six companies affiliated with them. The bank sought compensation for losses it claimed to have suffered as a result of illegal financial transactions in 2013–2014. The legal proceedings lasted nearly nine years and became one of the largest financial fraud cases ever heard in English courts.
In July 2025, the court ruled in favor of PrivatBank on the merits of the case, and in November determined the amount of compensation. In May 2026, the appellate court upheld the decision. The UK Supreme Court’s latest ruling has put an end to the former owners’ attempts to overturn the decision through the British appeals process.
This was reported by UNN, citing PrivatBank’s press service and official data from the UK Supreme Court.
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