On February 26, the Supreme Court's Administrative Cassation Court confirmed that the state-owned PrivatBank cannot be returned to its former owners, upholding the decision to close case No. 826/7432/17 filed by ex-shareholder Ihor Kolomoisky against the Cabinet of Ministers, the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU), the Ministry of Finance, and PrivatBank.

"PrivatBank welcomes this fair court ruling, which upholds the rule of law in Ukraine. This decision confirms that independent judges act in accordance with existing legislation and democratic principles. Contesting the nationalization of PrivatBank posed significant risks to the country's financial stability, given the substantial public funds invested in saving the bank to protect depositors' interests," said Solvita Deglava, a PrivatBank board member responsible for reorganization and distressed assets, in a press release on Thursday.

The bank noted that the case had been in litigation since 2017. Kolomoisky, who owned 41.6572% of PrivatBank shares before its nationalization, attempted to challenge the decisions made by all state bodies involved in the process. In April 2019, the now-defunct Kyiv District Administrative Court ruled in Kolomoisky's favor, declaring the nationalization unlawful. However, after extensive appeals, the Sixth Administrative Court of Appeal ruled in November 2023 to close the case, overturning the lower court's decision in Kolomoisky's favor.

Now, with the Supreme Court's ruling, PrivatBank has secured a final victory.

"The bank remains state-owned, and the case has been closed in accordance with Ukrainian law, which makes it impossible to return its shares to former owners," Deglava stated.

As reported, Kolomoisky had challenged the nationalization of PrivatBank both in administrative and commercial courts. The commercial case was concluded on November 26, 2024, when the Supreme Court's Commercial Cassation Court confirmed that returning PrivatBank to its former owners was impossible and closed the case brought by Kolomoisky and Triantal Investments Ltd. On November 27, 2023, the Kyiv Commercial Court also dismissed a separate lawsuit filed by another major ex-owner, Hennadiy Boholiubov, seeking to nullify PrivatBank's sale contracts.

Following these legal defeats, Kolomoisky filed an appeal with Ukraine's Constitutional Court to challenge the constitutionality of certain provisions of Law No. 590-IX (the so-called "Anti-Kolomoisky Law"). While his initial appeal was rejected, the final decision on whether to open proceedings will be made by the Constitutional Court's Second Senate due to internal disagreements among its judges.

As of January 1, 2025, PrivatBank remains Ukraine's largest bank by total assets (UAH 956.7 billion), according to the NBU. The bank reported a net profit of UAH 40.14 billion in 2024.