Kyiv arrested shares of Ukrainian subsidiaries of VTB, Sberbank and VEB

The Kiev Court of Appeal decided to arrest the shares of Ukrainian subsidiaries of Russian banks with state participation - VTB, Sberbank and Prominvestbank (owned by VEB), writes Interfax-Ukraine with reference to the court ruling dated September 5.

Details

• The decision to seize the shares was made as an interim measure to recover compensation from Russia for assets in Crimea. We are talking about a claim by 18 Ukrainian companies (some of them are structures of businessman Igor Kolomoisky) and the former head of the board of PrivatBank, Alexander Dubilet, to the International Court of Arbitration in The Hague. They claimed that due to the nationalization of property in Crimea, they lost their assets on the peninsula.
• In the spring, a court in The Hague ordered Russia to pay $159 million in compensation to the plaintiffs, but Russia does not consider itself a participant in this process. You can read more about this story here .
• The ruling of the Kyiv court states that the plaintiffs applied to the court for recognition of the Hague arbitration decision, after which they initiated the seizure of shares of Ukrainian subsidiaries of Russian banks.
• In 2017, Kyiv imposed sanctions on five subsidiaries of Russian banks, including VTB, Sberbank and Prominvestbank. They were prohibited from carrying out any financial transactions involving the transfer of funds outside Ukraine in favor of persons associated with banks.
• The seizure of shares will prevent banks from selling Ukrainian subsidiaries, since they have lost the right to dispose of their shares, Double Bridge Law partner Sergei Usoskin explained to Vedomosti. He also noted that although banks cannot manage their property, the arrest should not affect their operational activities.
• Ukrainian “subsidiaries” of Russian banks are separate legal entities, their property cannot be used to enforce the decision of the Hague Court, Usoskin emphasized.
• The arrest will not affect customer service; Sberbank will appeal the court decision in the near future, a bank representative told the newspaper.

Artem Gubenko