Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has promised to protect the interests of the country in the issue of challenging the nationalization of PrivatBank (Kyiv) in courts by its former shareholders, although he does not plan to directly interfere in the legal proceedings.

"We will see what the result is [of the litigation on the return of shares to ex-owners of the bank]. If the result is such that I need to protect the country, I will protect our state," the head of state said at a press marathon in Kyiv on Thursday.

He said that the International Monetary Fund and other international partners of the country are concerned about the issue of challenging PrivatBank's nationalization in courts. "At a meeting with them, I always say: so you want me to somehow influence this? No, you, as president, do not influence better. And what should I do? You somehow do not influence, but influence. It is very interesting position," Zelensky said.

At the same time, the President of Ukraine said that he did not intend to directly intervene in the lawsuit: "I honestly say: while in my life I haven't called any of the judges, talked on the phone with any of them, haven't asked anything, there are many questions to our court, but I cannot influence it," he said.

As reported, Kyiv's business court could make the final decision on October 17 in hearing of a claim of former shareholders of PrivatBank (Kyiv) Ihor Kolomoisky and Triantal Investments Ltd. seeking to declare invalid the sale and purchase agreement signed for this bank on December 21, 2016 between the Finance Ministry of Ukraine and persons who were the bank's shareholders at that moment.

On December 18, 2016, the government of Ukraine, referring to the proposal of the NBU and the former shareholders of PrivatBank, the largest of which at that time were Kolomoisky and Hennadiy Boholiubov, decided to nationalize the country's No. 1 bank and injected over UAH 155 billion into its capital. The ex-owners of the bank consider the nationalization unlawful, as a result of which they completely lost their shares, while PrivatBank and the government demand that the former shareholders additionally compensated damage.

At the end of February 2019, Kyiv's Commercial Court on the second attempt accepted for consideration the lawsuit filed by Kolomoisky and Triantal, who owned 41.6572% and 16.5748% of PrivatBank shares, respectively, regarding the invalidation of the sale and acquisition agreement dated December 21, 2016. The court also granted the plaintiffs' petition and requested the defendants – the Ministry of Finance, the Individual Deposits Guarantee Fund and state-owned Ukrgasbank – to provide the said document by March 26.

During a court hearing on April 9, the plaintiffs filed a petition to expand the list of their claims with a provision demanding the return of PrivatBank's shares to them, and the court granted the petition. At the same time, the court rejected the Finance Ministry's request to leave the claim without consideration.

Meanwhile, the National Bank of Ukraine, the National Securities and the Stock Market Commission, PrivatBank, as well as the custodians of Ukreximbank and Solid Dnipro were added to the list of the defendants.

Then the court's hearings on the case were repeatedly rescheduled, and the defendants' applications to change Judge Liudmyla Shkurdova were rejected.

On September 24, Kyiv's Commercial Court began consideration of the claim of Kolomoisky and Triantal Investments Ltd. on the invalidation of the contract per se and announced a break in hearings until October 1, and then until October 8.

The parties are currently engaged in litigation in Ukraine and abroad.