Page 7 - UKRRptMay20

The closure of the border had been announced as of March 27, prompting thousands of Ukrainian citizens to pack transport and flood border crossings to meet the deadline. And yet, another 11,000 returned this weekend, at least. News reports of those returning on March 27 and avoiding airport screenings, including temperature checks, upset much of the public, which itself has to cope with severe restrictions. Reports of more people returning, with many thousands possibly eluding screenings, will only make the public more impatient with restrictions.
2.2​ U.K. Supreme Court rejects latest appeal by Privatbank former owners
The Supreme Court of the U.K. rejected on April 6 an appeal, ​filed by Privatbank's former owners, against an October ruling of the Court of Appeal that affirmed the jurisdiction of High Court in London to hear Privatbank's fraud and conspiracy claims, the bank reported on April 7. “There is no further avenue for appeal available ... and the bank's claims will therefore proceed to trial in the English High Court,” the bank wrote in a press release.
Recall, Privatbank, which was recognized insolvent and nationalized in December 2016, filed a $1.9bn claim against its former owners (Ihor Kolomoisky and Gennadiy Bogolyubov) with the High Court in London for $1.9bn, claiming they had fraudulently misappropriated the funds on the bank. Later on, the value of claim swelled to $3.0bn. The court decided in December 2018 that this claim is beyond its jurisdiction, but in October 2019, the Court of Appeal overturned that decision, thus confirming the jurisdiction of the High Court in London. Now that the Supreme Court affirmed this, the case will heard in London.
In its December 2018 ruling, the London court already stated that “there is no difficulty with the bank proving a good arguable case of a fraudulent scheme,” meaning that the bank and its new owner, the Ukrainian government, have a solid chance for victory in the U.K. This again raises the amount of the potential bill for Kolomoisky and his partners, meaning they are likely to grow more aggressive in lobbying the return of Privatbank under their control, seeking favourable decisions from Ukrainian courts. The key impediment to their goal is the IMF-required law on banking resolution (the so-called ant-Kolomoisky law), which is currently being prepared for its second reading in the parliament.
These rising stakes in the fight for Privatbank have already reduced the chance for the bill to be approved this month, and in turn decreases the likelihood of IMF and other IFI support for Ukraine arriving soon. Nevertheless, we continue to consider the bill's approval and smooth cooperation with IFIs as the base-case scenario for Ukraine.
2.3​ ​Naftogaz attracted an international investor to increase gas production on depleted fields
Ukraine’s national gas company has attracted an international investor to increase gas production on depleted fields, ​the company said in press
7​ UKRAINE Country Report​ May 2020 ​ ​www.intellinews.com