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93-545: The business group was grouped around PrivatBank . On 18 December 2016 this bank was nationalized by the government of Ukraine, taking 100% ownership. The group is controlled by the billionaire businessmen Hennadiy Boholyubov , Oleksiy Martynov, and Ihor Kolomoyskyi (the latter is the richest and leading partner that is best known to the public). As a business-oligarch entity, Privat Group controls some prominent Ukrainian media, maintains close relations with politicians, and sponsors professional sports . Key businesses of

186-654: A $ 500,000 reward for the delivery of Oleg Tsaryov , a leader of the separatists, to the law enforcement agencies of Ukraine. He drafted thousands of Privat Group employees as auxiliary police officers. Kolomoyskyi is also believed to have spent $ 10 million to create the Dnipro Battalion , and to have provided funds for the Aidar , Azov , and Donbas volunteer battalions . Filatov concedes that these extraordinary measures were in Kolomoyskyi’s interest, since

279-612: A Thomson BankWatch rating statement (an international rating agency) and became a full member of the Europay payment system. In 1998 the Bank obtained a credit rating from Fitch IBCA . On 6 July 2000, PrivatBank shareholders decided to reorganize the Bank from a limited liability company to a closed joint-stock company . The Charter of the Closed Joint-Stock Company Commercial Bank "PrivatBank"

372-489: A chief executive of UkrTransNafta , Kolomoyskyi dispatched his private security guards to seize control of the company's headquarters and expel the new government-appointed management. While Lazorko was in charge the state-owned pipelines had been delivering oil to a Kolomoyskyi-owned refinery in preference to competitors. In a further move against Kolomoyskyi, Poroshenko replaced Kolomoisky's long-time business partner Ihor Palytsa as governor of neighboring Odesa Oblast with

465-461: A commercial bank in the form of a limited liability company. At the very beginning, PrivatBank had only one office and a few computers. PrivatBank was the first in Ukraine to introduce plastic cards and ATMs. In 1996 PrivatBank became a full member of Visa International (payment system) and launched a large-scale plastic cards issuance. In 1997 PrivatBank became the first Ukrainian bank to obtain

558-576: A complicated chain of offshore companies . Despite this, the Ukrainian public has a clear understanding of what exactly belongs to the group. To describe such relations, the media use the wording “company X is controlled by the Privat Group" or "the business of the X company is being organized by the PrivatBank". The group never denies such statements. Various steel companies form the core of

651-520: A controlling stake in the NFP during the auction, to which no one else was allowed. After the change of power, in 2006, Pinchuk ceded control over the NFP and received in return 25% in the Privat ferroalloy business. At the end of 2007, Kolomoisky sold to Evraz the controlling stakes of the six metallurgical enterprises. Privat received $ 1 billion and 9.72% of Evraz shares. However, two years later, Bogolyubov

744-460: A decree dismissing Kolomoyskyi from the post of Dnipropetrovsk RSA Head, saying "Dnipropetrovsk region must remain a bastion of Ukraine in the East and protect peace". Kolomoyskyi was replaced by Valentyn Reznichenko . This followed a struggle with Poroshenko for control of the state-owned oil pipeline operator. After Poroshenko's dismissal of Oleksandr Lazorko , who was a protégé of Kolomoyskyi, as

837-520: A finance director considered she had "strong grounds for doubting the honesty of Mr Kolomoyskyi". In 2015, Victor Pinchuk brought a $ 2 billion civil action against Kolomoyskyi and Gennadiy Bogolyubov in the High Court of Justice in London over the 2004 purchase of a Ukrainian mining company. Allegations made include murder and bribery. In January 2016 an undisclosed out-of-court settlement

930-519: A fully digital office in Kyiv , which is informally called the branch of the future. PrivatBank earned a profit of ₴35.050 billion according to the official data of the National Bank of Ukraine in 2021. Below is information on the Bank's equity, assets, and net profit for the past 15 years. More detailed financial indicators of the Bank can be found on the Bank's website in the section About

1023-469: A lawsuit against Kolomoyskyi and Bogolyubov in the High Court in London and secured a worldwide freeze on their assets. The High Court ruled that it had no jurisdiction, but in 2019 the judgement was overturned on appeal, with the UK Supreme Court finding that the $ 3 billion claim against the former owners of the bank can be heard in a London court. In April 2019, a Ukrainian court ruled that

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1116-701: A long and complicated history of relations. Presently, the conflict focuses on the bilaterally owned Nikopol Ferroalloys Plant (Interpipe now controls the plant’s business). Both sides apply full-scale legal, public relations and political methods in the conflict. Ihor Kolomoyskyi (the main owner of Privat Group) and Pinchuk sometimes insult each other in their interviews. Henadiy Korban , one of Privat Group's top managers, survived serious assassination attempts in Dnipro in March 2006, and again in September 2010. Before

1209-511: A network of offshore companies in the British Virgin Islands , Cyprus , and Belize dating back to 2012. Zelenskyy’s office sought to justify the network as having been a means of protecting him against the aggressive abuse of tax inspection powers by President Viktor Yanukovych. Potentially more damaging than the appearance of tax evasion was the charge by a political ally of Poroshenko, the journalist Volodymyr Ariev , that

1302-620: A popular nationwide TV company. According to media, Privat Group also controls the UNIAN news agency. Privat Group indirectly owns FC Dnipro professional football club as well as the HC Budivelnyk hockey and BC Budivelnyk basketball teams. They own 2/3rd of Optima Ventures, a Miami-based real estate investment firm led by Chaim Schochet ; the remaining 1/3rd is owned by Miami businessman Mordechai "Motti" Korf and Uri Laber. Optima owns more than 5 million square feet of real estate in

1395-746: A prominent figure in Ukraine's organised Jewish community. In 2008, he was elected the President of “the United Jewish community of Ukraine” in Kyiv. He became a major funder in Ukraine of the Chabad movement , which has Ukrainian roots. In 2012, with Gennady Bogolubov and Victor Pinchuk , he financed construction of what purports to be the largest multifunctional Jewish Community Center in Europe,

1488-858: A threat to the Ukrainian public's faith in democratic institutions. Zelenskyy reportedly stripped Kolomoyskyi of his Ukrainian citizenship in 2022. Later that same year, those of Kolomoyskyi's assets deemed to be of strategic value to the state in light of the Russian invasion were nationalised. These included Ukraine's largest gasoline companies. In 2023, Kolomoyskyi was arrested by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) on charges of money laundering and fraud, and placed under pre-trial arrest. The transliteration of Ihor Kolomoyskyi's name into English has numerous variants including Igor, or Ihor for his first name, and Kolomoyskyi, Kolomoysky, Kolomoisky, Kolomoiskiy, or Kolomoyskiy for his surname. Kolomoyskyi uses

1581-615: A washing machine for the stolen loan funds." In April 2021, Kolomoyskyi and his wife and children were banned from entering the U.S., The United States Department of State accused him of corruptly using his time as Governor of Dnipropetrovsk to personally enrich himself. He was "involved in corrupt acts that undermined rule of law and the Ukrainian public's faith in their government's democratic institutions and public processes, including using his political influence and official power for his personal benefit." In his statement Secretary of State Antony Blinken said: While this designation

1674-565: Is based on acts during his time in office, I also want to express concern about Kolomoyskyy’s current and ongoing efforts to undermine Ukraine’s democratic processes and institutions, which pose a serious threat to its future. In January 2022, the DOJ announced that it had filed a civil forfeiture complaint against Kolomoyskyi in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida alleging that "more than $ 6 million in proceeds from

1767-719: Is the half-state-owned national oil company, dealing with extraction of petroleum and gas condensate , as well as retailing gasoline through its large gas station network. Halychyna owns and operates Ukraine's oldest oil refinery in Drohobych , Lviv Oblast . The group also recently acquired control over Chornomorsk Fuel Terminal Company, operating the oil & petrol terminal in the Black Sea port of Chornomorsk . The group owns Kamianske based chemical plant " DniproAzot " with 1000000 tons per year of ammonia capacity and 750000 tons per year of urea capacity. Privat Group owns

1860-561: Is the largest bank in Ukraine by assets. It was formed on 19 March 1992 and has been owned by the Government of Ukraine since 2016. In early 2024, it was confirmed by the National Bank of Ukraine as one of the country's systemically important banks . PrivatBank has the second-largest network of branches and the largest network of ATMs and terminals among Ukrainian banks . As of July 2022, more than 7,000 ATMs, 11,000 payment terminals and more than 250,000 POS terminals are operating in

1953-547: Is “a good education, good English and lack of a criminal record.” Everything else is the same: “It’s the same blood, the same flesh reincarnated. If Yanukovych was a lumpen dictator, Poroshenko is the educated usurper, slave to his absolute power, craven to absolute power.” The Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 again highlighted the presence in Dnipro of the volunteer "Dnipro Guard" (Варти Дніпра, Varty Dnipra), first formed in 2014 with Kolomoyskyi support in response to

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2046-567: The 2012 Ukrainian parliamentary election Kolomoyskyi was seen by the Ukrainian Democratic Alliance for Reform's critics as standing behind the UDAR's Vitali Klitschko , although the party denied he was a sponsor. After the events of Euromaidan forced the resignation of Yanukovych in February 2014, acting President Oleksandr Turchynov appointed Kolomoyskyi Governor of Dnipropetrovsk Oblast . Kolomoyskyi responded to

2139-730: The Dontesk and Luhansk , of "organizing the killing of civilians". Russia asked for Kolomoyskyi to be put on Interpol 's wanted list. On 2 July 2014, a Russian District Court called for his arrest. As governor, Kolomoyskyi went to some lengths to maintain a reputation for ruthlessness: visitors to his office were unsettled by an enormous shark tank. Once he became mayor of Dnipro in November 2015, and after his boss's ouster as governor, Filatov found Kolomoyksyi's "oligarch mentality" unchanged: "he started calling to ask me favours". On 25 March 2015, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko signed

2232-652: The Eastern Ukraine where Russian citizens are being killed". In response, in January 2016 Kolomoyskyi filed a complaint against Russia at the Permanent Court of Arbitration . The Russians maintained that the intergovernmental court has no jurisdiction over the matter and refused to participate in proceedings. They responded with their own charges against Kolomoyskyi, accusing him, in his support for Ukrainian resistance to Russian-backed separatists in

2325-521: The Menorah Centre , in downtown Dnipro. Comprising seven marble towers (of which the highest is 20 stories) arranged in the shape of a menorah , it houses a synagogue, two hotels, kosher restaurant and grocery store and Jewish Memory and Holocaust Museum. In 2010 in Berlin, after promising the outgoing president he would donate $ 14 million, Kolomoyskyi was appointed as the president of

2418-838: The Orange Revolution , Privat Group had been widely regarded as relatively uninvolved in politics, but loyal to the Leonid Kuchma regime. After the government change, the group's owners, according to media, became close allies of Yulia Tymoshenko (although she publicly denies this). Analysts agree that some of Tymoshenko's decisions as the Prime Minister of Ukraine supported Privat side in conflicts. Some sources state that Privat Group provided significant financial support for Viktor Yuschenko during his presidential campaign and subsequent Orange Revolution . PrivatBank PrivatBank (Ukrainian: ПриватБанк)

2511-577: The Southern District of Florida (Miami) alleged that Kolomoyskyi, Bogolyubov, Mordechai Korf, and Uriel Lader collectively obtained numerous properties as part of a $ 5.5 billion Ponzi scheme as "an international conspiracy to launder money embezzled and fraudulently obtained from PrivatBank," which was nationalized in 2016 to prevent a collapse of Ukraine's equivalent to the United States' FDIC, and using PrivatBank's "Cyprus branch... as

2604-404: The nationalization of PrivatBank was illegal. Ukraine's central bank said it would not be possible to reverse the nationalisation and that it would appeal the decision. Kolomoyskyi stated that he has no interest in taking back control of the bank but sought $ 2bn in compensation for losses he insists were incurred during the nationalisation. On 14 February 2017 PrivatBank was liquidated. In

2697-481: The war in Donbas . Mayor of Dnipro Borys Filatov dismissed suggestions that the group was Kolomoyskyi's "private army". The Ukrainian billionaire, according to Filatov, helped with some equipment purchases, but the volunteer guard performs defence and law and order functions under the leadership of the national police. As of 2019, Kolomoyskyi owned 70% of the 1+1 Media Group whose TV channel 1+1 aired Servant of

2790-587: The Bank by UAH 116,800 million and by further UAH 38,565 million in June 2017. Subsequently, the Ukrainian state has owned 100% of the shares of the authorized capital. The Bank is a universal Bank that focuses on the retail segment, actively promoting services for small and medium businesses and selectively working in the corporate sector. Almost 19 million Ukrainians regularly use the services of PrivatBank, and there are currently 15 million customers of Privat24 digital banking. The sectoral characteristics of

2883-446: The Bank – Financial reporting . (at the year-end) (at the year-end) (in a year) Igor Kolomoisky Ihor Valeriyovych Kolomoyskyi ( Ukrainian : Ігор Валерійович Коломойський , romanized :  Ihor Valeriiovych Kolomoiskyi ; Hebrew : איגור קולומויסקי ; born 13 February 1963) is a Ukrainian-born Israeli billionaire businessman, once considered the leading oligarch in Ukraine. Already an entrepreneur in

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2976-540: The Bank's customer base show that a large part comprises trade and commercial enterprises. A significant share of corporate customers are enterprises in the food, transport, agricultural, and construction industries. In 1999, the Bank launched SMS-banking , and in 2000, it introduced dynamic one-time OTP passwords by linking the card to a mobile phone number. In 2001, PrivatBank launched the Privat24 digital banking system. As of June 2022, more than 15 million people use

3069-569: The British magazine The Banker , in 2016 PrivatBank ranked 16th among the largest banks in Central and Eastern Europe and 627th among the top 1000 global banks. PrivatBank is one of the first private commercial banks established in Ukraine. Decision on PrivatBank establishment was taken at the meeting of its founders on 7 February 1992. On 19 March 1992, the Bank was registered by the Stateas

3162-577: The Dnipro-based “ Biola ” soft drinks company. The group may also control sugar beet processing plants throughout Ukraine. In 2005, Privat Group bought controlling shares in five companies that fully control electricity distribution in Ivano-Frankivsk , Poltava , Sumy , Chernihiv and Lviv Oblasts . The names of these companies are the name of the respective oblast with the -oblenergo ending, e.g. “Poltavaoblenergo”. Privatbank ,

3255-788: The EJU subsequently styled itself the European Jewish Parliament. Modelled on the Israeli Knesset with 120 members, its declared aim is to represent the concerns of the Jewish community to the European Union . The Brussels-based initiative, with which Kolomoyskyi no longer appears to be associated, has been opposed by much of the established Jewish community leadership. Beginning in 2010, rumors circulated that Kolomoyskyi's assets were coming under pressure from

3348-650: The European Council of Jewish Communities (ECJC). Some western European ECJC board members described his elevation as a " putsch " and a "Soviet-style takeover". After several resigned in protest, Kolomoyskyi quit the ECJC and, together with fellow Ukrainian oligarch Vadim Rabinovich , founded the European Jewish Union in April 2011. Launched by Kolomoyskyi and Rabinovich at Disneyland Paris ,

3441-595: The Fianit trading cooperative. In 1990, with two other graduates from Dnipropetrovsk universities, Gennadiy Bogolyubov and Oleksiy Martynov, Kolomoyskyi created a joint enterprise marketing office equipment bought in Moscow . After the collapse of the USSR , the partners, joined by the son of a major Soviet entrepreneur, Leonid Miloslavsky, began to import foreign goods – from sneakers and sportswear to telephones. To pay for

3534-981: The Leonid Brezhnev Dnipropetrovsk Metallurgical Institute (now the National Metallurgical Academy of Ukraine ), graduating in 1985. As a Komsomol activist, Kolomoyskyi was involved in the so-called "disco movement"—an attempt by the authorities to promote an ideological safe alternative to the growing, underground, rebroadcast and performance of "Anglo-American" rock music including, in the 80s, heavy metal and punk. Kolomoyskyi used his role in organising approved dance venues and concerts to begin his trading career, as did others in his position, several of whom would go on to play prominent roles in post-Soviet national politics, among them Yulia Tymoshenko , Victor Pinchuk , Serhiy Tihipko , and Oleksandr Turchynov . In 1986, Kolomoyskyi found work in

3627-477: The People , a comedy series in which Volodymyr Zelenskyy plays a school teacher who, defying all expectations (including his own), becomes president of Ukraine on an anti-corruption platform. In March 2018, members of Zelenskyy's production company Kvartal 95 registered a new political party called " Servant of the People ." Twelve months later, they succeeded in getting their candidate past Yulia Tymoshenko in

3720-701: The People parliamentary faction. Claiming he was part of a "Russia-linked foreign influence network" associated with fellow People's Deputy Andrii Derkach , the U.S. Department of the Treasury 's Office of Foreign Assets Control had placed Dubinsky on its sanction list . As had Rabinovich as co-founder of the Opposition Platform , Kolomoyskyi had begun to call for a new partnership between Ukraine and Russia. When that happened, he proposed that NATO would be "soiling its pants and buying Pampers ." Meanwhile, striking "a more assertive tone", Zelenskyy

3813-541: The Privat Group, presenting a full manufacturing chain of metallurgy . This oldest and most important part of the group is mostly located in and around Dnipro ( location specified in parenthesises below ). Apart from its ferroalloy-ore assets, Privat Group has stakes in all three of Ukraine's ferroalloy mills and controls two of them. According to the media, Privat Group owns significant shares in Ukrnafta and Halychyna oil refinery , controlling their business. Ukrnafta

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3906-474: The Privat24 digital banking system. And in 2002, the Bank introduced electronic document management . Subsequently, PrivatBank was the first in the world to introduce P2P transfers between cards on the Internet and began mass emission of instant cards. In 2005, the Bank emitted a millionth credit plastic card. Beginning from 2004, PrivatBank has started to make international money transfers to Ukraine using

3999-538: The PrivatMoney payment system. In 2008, PrivatBank created the first iPhone application in Eastern Europe – iPay, and in 2010, PrivatBank launched mobile payment terminals. 2012 was the year of the introduction of contactless cash withdrawal via ATMs using a smartphone and a QR code . And in 2015, PrivatBank launched the technology of instant payment via QR code. In 2016, Visa and PrivatBank announced

4092-514: The Russians would have seized his assets. Following their 2014 annexation of Crimea , the Russian authorities nationalised Kolomoyskyi's Crimean properties, including a civil airport. According to the pro-Russian Crimean leader Sergey Aksyonov the move was "totally justified due to the fact that he [Kolomoyskyi] is one of the initiators and financiers of the special anti-terrorist operation in

4185-577: The STP Excellence Award from Deutsche Bank . In 2009, the Bank changed its organizational and legal form to a public joint-stock company. In June 2018, the Bank changed its organizational and legal form from a public joint-stock company to a joint-stock company. On December 18, 2016, the Deposit Guarantee Fund (DGF) appointed a temporary administrator to manage the activities of PJSC CB "PrivatBank" in accordance with

4278-536: The Ukrainian authorities and that he was spending increasingly more time in Switzerland . In September 2013, Kolomoyskyi was criticized by Mr Justice Mann in a court case in London involving an attempted hostile takeover in October 2010 of Alexander Zhukov 's JKX Oil and Gas Company, The judge noted that Kolomoyskyi had "a reputation of having sought to take control of a company at gunpoint in Ukraine" and that

4371-411: The Ukrainian regulator treated as if it was just another of the bank's domestic branches. In December 2016, declaring that Kolomoyskyi‘s bank was severely undercapitalized and a threat to the country's financial system, the Ukrainian government nationalized the lender, then the largest in Ukraine. A $ 5.6 billion bailout was financed with IMF funds. In 2018, the now nationalized PrivatBank brought

4464-568: The United States and his mining interests in Ghana and Australia. Legal filings from American prosecutors in 2019 detailed how Kolomoyskyi used his control of Ukraine's largest retail bank, PrivatBank, to loot staggering sums from Ukrainian depositors, and via a series of shell companies and offshore accounts whisked the money out of the country and into the U.S. In August 2020, the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) in

4557-712: The United States and is the largest holder of real estate in Downtown Cleveland owning One Cleveland Center and 55 Public Square ; they are previous owners of the Huntington Bank Building ; and the Penton Media Building . Privat Group is involved in a permanent and fierce business conflict with Ukrainian oligarch Viktor Pinchuk and his Interpipe Group . The groups are based in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, sharing

4650-535: The amount of UAH 155,764 million and converted UAH 10,934 million of customer funds, UAH 10,721 million of issued Eurobonds and UAH 7,783 million of subordinated debt into authorized capital of the Bank (‘bail in’). On December 21, 2016, after the bail in, the Bank's shares were sold for UAH 1 to the Ministry of Finance of Ukraine . In December 2016, the Ministry of Finance decided to increase the authorized capital of

4743-471: The bank had handed out over US$ 1 billion in loans to firms owned by seven top managers and two subordinates of Kolomoyskyi. The Bank of Italy meanwhile shut down the Italian branch of Latvian lender AS PrivatBank after finding breaches of money-laundering regulations. Valeria Hontareva , the former chairwoman of Ukraine's central bank, characterised Kolomoyskyi and Boholiubov operation PrivatBank as one of

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4836-452: The biggest financial scandals of the 21st century. “Large-scale coordinated fraudulent actions of the bank shareholders and management caused a loss to the state of at least $ 5.5 billion,” Hontareva said in March 2018. “This is 33 percent of the population’s deposits … [and] 40 percent of our country’s monetary base". A key mechanism appears to have been the PrivatBank subsidiary in Cyprus which

4929-664: The capital and established operational control over the Nikopol Ferroalloy Plant , Pokrovsky (Ordzhonikidze) and Marganets GOKs. Gennady Bogolyubov later admitted that Privat had to negotiate with the governor of the Dnipropetrovsk region Pavlo Lazarenko . So, in 1996, to the Lazarenko’s driver, Leonid Gadyatsky, were rewritten 16.7% of the Privat key company - Sentosa Ltd, 14% of the Solm company, which owned

5022-404: The crucial year for the Privatbank Group business when the bank have joined voucher privatization. Having accumulated 1.2 million certificates (2.3% of their total number), the bank began to purchase the shares of the metallurgical enterprises. The first company whose shares Privat received in exchange for certificates was the Dnipropetrovsk hardware plant. With the help of vouchers, Privat entered

5115-420: The decision of the National Bank of Ukraine to classify the Bank as insolvent. On December 19-21, 2016, in accordance with the provisions of the Law of Ukraine “On the Deposit Guarantee System”, the DGF dismissed the Bank's Management and Supervisory Board and was solely responsible for managing the Bank's activities during these three days. The DGF recognized the impairment of loans and advances to customers in

5208-646: The early 2000s, three Ukrainian airlines: Aerosvit Airlines , Dniproavia , Donbassaero . All went bankrupt. Through the asset management company Mansvell Enterprises Limited, he controlled a further three Scandinavian airlines, Skyways Express , City Airline , and Cimber Sterling each of which again, within a few years, filed for bankruptcy and ceased operations. As of 2008, other fields of activity in Ukraine as well as in Russia and Romania included: ferroalloys , finance, oil products, and mass media, Kolomoyskyi's media assets were initially controlled by Glavred media holding, which owns Information Agency UNIAN,

5301-421: The end of 2007, Privat completed the sale of its metallurgical assets to the Russian Evraz group: the Sukhaya Balka mining and processing plant, the Dnipropetrovsk Metallurgical Plant of Petrovsky and three coke chemicals (Dneprodzerzhinsky Coke and Chemical Plant, Baglecox, Dneprokoks). Kolomoisky is a major shareholder of Ukrnafta (42% of shares in 2008). At the end of December 2007, Privat acquired 12.62% of

5394-428: The endorsement of Kolomoyskyi's media empire. Once in office, Zelenskyy appeared to remove officials deemed a threat to Kolomoyskyi's interests, among them the Prosecutor General, Ruslan Ryaboshapka and the Governor of the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU), Yakiv Smolii , and Zelenskyy's first prime minister, Oleksiy Honcharuk , who tried to loosen Kolomoyskyi's control of a state-owned electricity company. Following

5487-458: The first round of the presidential election, and on 21 April 2019 to defeat President Poroshenko in the second round with 73 per cent of the vote. Zelenskyy was viewed by opponents, and not least by the incumbent Poroshenko, as Kolomoyskyi's candidate. Zelenskyy appointed Kolomoyskyi's personal lawyer as a key campaign advisor; travelled to Geneva and Tel Aviv to confer with the then-exiled Kolomoyskyi on multiple occasions; and benefited from

5580-402: The first time in Ukraine. The Bank also implemented a number of digital services: In 2020, PrivatBank launched the "Money at the cash register" service that allows to receive cash at store cash registers. Besides, the Bank has the first biometric POS terminals in Ukraine. Moreover, government services became available to customers: In 2021, the Bank opened the first Concept Store in Ukraine –

5673-404: The former Georgian president , Mikheil Saakashvili . That appointment triggered a dramatic and public war of words between Kolomoyskyi and Saakashvili. Saakashvili told journalists Kolomoyskyi was a “gangster” and “smuggler.” Kolomoyskyi told them Saakashvili was “a dog without a muzzle” and “a snotty-nosed addict.” Kolomoyskyi responded that the only difference between Poroshenko and Yanukovych

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5766-459: The former head of the Dnipropetrovsk Komsomol Party, suggested to Miloslavsky to set up a bank. Kolomoisky initially opposed this idea, but eventually agreed [2]. In March 1992, four companies — Vist LLC, Sentosa LLC, Som LLC, and Privat-Intertreyding CJSC — established Privatbank CJSC. Tigipko became chairman of the board, and Miloslavsky headed the supervisory board. Unlike state-owned banks, Privat willingly served private entrepreneurs. 1995 became

5859-422: The four companies of the Privat Group established Privatbank CJSC. Unlike state-owned banks, Privat willingly served private entrepreneurs and in 1995 participated aggressively in the voucher scheme for the privatization of state assets. With the blessing of Prime Minister Leonid Kuchma (also from Dnipro, and whose successful presidential campaign in 1994 Kolomoyskyi and his partners later funded), PrivatBank

5952-403: The group (including the PrivatBank itself) are based in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast . The group's founding owners, natives of Dnipro , made their entire careers there. In 1990, the graduates of the Dnipropetrovsk universities, Gennadiy Bogolyubov , Ihor Kolomoyskyi and Oleksiy Martynov, created the first joint business: Bogolyubov and Kolomoisky bought the office equipment in Moscow , and Martynov

6045-417: The group. Korban, whose company kept the register of shareholders of the coke, through the courts canceled the transaction, which allowed his owner to collect a controlling stake. In the late 1990s, Igor Kolomoisky and Victor Pinchuk , who owned large stakes in the NZF, Pokrovsky (Ordzhonikidze) GOK and MGOK, agreed to work together in the ferroalloy market, but soon they quarreled. In 2003, Pinchuk acquired

6138-782: The imports, Kolomoyskyi arranged the export of steel products. Soon they realized the greater profits to be made in internationally trading the locally sourced ores and metal. Among other operations, their Privat group supplied fuel to the mining company Pokrovsky (Ordzhonikidzevsky) GOK, receiving in return manganese ore for export. In 1991, together with Leonid Miloslavsky, Oleksiy Martynov, and Hennadiy Boholyubov , he founded Sentosa Ltd, which transported and resold goods and equipment from Moscow to Dnipropetrovsk. Later, petroleum products were imported, they expanded into ferroalloy , supplied Ordzhonikidze GOK (later Pokrov Mining and Processing Plant GOK) with fuel, and received manganese ore for further export under barter agreements. In March 1992,

6231-480: The last years of Soviet Ukraine , in 2010 Kolomoyskyi was rated as the second richest person in Ukraine, and as one of the country's most influential oligarchs . In 1992, he had co-founded PrivatBank and its informal stable of companies, Privat Group . He subsequently acquired extensive media holdings. Between 2014 and 2016, Kolomoyskyi served as Governor of Dnipropetrovsk Oblast until his dismissal by President Petro Poroshenko . That year, his undercapitalised bank

6324-473: The launch of the Visa Token Service in Ukraine, which replaces confidential payment card information with a unique digital identifier which is a token . The next two years were favorable for smartphone owners: in 2017, PrivatBank brought Android Pay (now Google Pay) to Ukraine, and in 2018 – Apple Pay. 2019 was marked in the history of innovations by the updated Privat24. Beyond that, FacePay24 technology – payment by face – became available to bank customers for

6417-464: The network. The national banking service network of PrivatBank includes approximately 1,200 branches. PrivatBank is the largest issuer and acquirer of electronic payment means in Ukraine. The bank operates several payment services including Privat24 and LiqPay. It is notable for being the first bank to introduce digital banking services to Ukraine. PrivatBank was the first in Ukraine to connect Google Pay and Apple Pay payment services. According to

6510-522: The nickname Benya ( Russian : Беня ), an invocation of the infamous Ukrainian (and Jewish) criminal reprobate Benya Krik , popularly fictionalized in Isaac Babel 's Odessa Stories . Occasionally, Kolomoyskyi is called Bonifatsiy (the eponymous star of the popular Soviet cartoon " Каникулы Бонифация " ( Bonifacy's holidays by Soyuzmultfilm ). Kolomoyskyi was born into a Jewish family in Dnipropetrovsk , Ukrainian SSR , Soviet Union . Both parents had graduated in engineering. His mother worked at

6603-417: The open market, the controlling stake remained with the government. Thanks to Kolomoisky’s acquaintance with the brothers Hryhoriy and Ihor Surkis and Viktor Medvedchuk , the company’s chairman was dismissed and replaced by Kolomoisky’s appointee. In 2000, with the help of Hennadiy Korban , Privat was able to establish control over the Kalinin coke-chemical plant, the owner of which did not cooperate with

6696-410: The opening of U.S. criminal investigations of Kolomoyskyi and his associates, the oligarch appeared to lose influence with Zelenskyy. In 2020, Zelenskyy sponsored a law that banned former owners from recovering nationalized assets. On 1 February 2021, Oleksandr Dubinsky , a former 1+1 journalist who had actively opposed this so-called "anti-Kolomoyskyi law", was expelled from Zelenskyy's Servant of

6789-502: The players were not receiving their pay, were also in difficulty. Through Privat Group , Kolomoyskyi also had an interest in Budivelnyk Kyiv . In 2019, after being relegated FC Dnipro was dissolved. In 2016, Kolomoyskyi and his business partner Gennadiy Bogolyubov were accused of defrauding Ukraine's largest bank PrivatBank of billions of dollars through large unsecured loans to shareholders. Between mid-2015 and mid-2016,

6882-838: The sale of commercial real estate in Dallas, Texas . . . are subject to forfeiture based on violations of federal money laundering statutes". This was the fourth such action filed by the DOJ in connection with the same alleged criminal activity: the laundering of funds illegally obtained from PrivatBank through multimillion-dollar U.S. property investments. Kolomoyskyi opposed the presidential ambitions and government of Viktor Yanukovych and his broadly pro-Russian Party of Regions . He had been an ally of Yanukovych's predecessor as president, former central bank governor Victor Yushchenko , helping to finance Yushchenko's Our Ukraine–People's Self-Defense Bloc . He also supported Yulia Tymoshenko and her bloc of political parties, Bloc Yulia Tymoshenko . In

6975-496: The second richest person in Ukraine; in 2012 Forbes rated him the third richest person in Ukraine (after Rinat Akhmetov and/or Viktor Pinchuk ). In March 2015, after the sharp decline in the value of the Ukrainian hryvnia , The Economist listed his net worth as $ 1.36 billion. In 2019, the Ukrainian magazine Focus placed Kolomoyskyi third on a list of the 100 most influential Ukrainians. Kolomoyskyi has been

7068-452: The shares of the British oil and gas company JKX Oil & Gas , about 80% of oil and gas assets are located in Ukraine. The businesses of Privat Group are not formally included in a corporation , and its top managers sometimes state that there is no such group at all. However, either PrivatBank or " Privat -Intertrading" company indirectly own all companies regarded as parts of the group. Typically, industrial companies are controlled through

7161-778: The summer of 2022, the Economic Court of Kyiv and the Supreme Court of Ukraine affirmed the legality of the National Bank of Ukraine's actions in taking PrivatBank into government control. In April 2019 it was reported the FBI was investigating Kolomoyskyi over financial crimes involving Gennadiy Bogolyubov, the Kryvyi Rih businessman Vadim Shulman and Mordechai "Motti" Korf of Florida in relation to Kolomoyskyi steel holdings in West Virginia and northern Ohio in

7254-523: The then-beginning 2014 pro-Russian unrest in Ukraine by saying, "I don't understand how Ukrainians and Russians can fight," before blaming Yanukovych and President of Russia Vladimir Putin for the unrest, referring to the latter as a "schizophrenic of short stature," and accused him of having a "messianic drive" to recreate the Russian Empire or the Soviet Union , which he said would plunge

7347-522: The third part of the Privatbank, and at minimum 1% of the Privat intertrading". In 1997, Lazarenko, who had already become the prime minister, was dismissed, and Miloslavsky died of a heart attack while on holiday in Austria . The share of Miloslavsky was inherited by his daughter Marianna, who was just finishing the school. In 1999–2003, Privat's structure bought about 40% of Ukrnafta shares on

7440-530: The university and father in a metallurgical plant. Already in his childhood he was considered to be very determined, diligent and serious, was enthusiastic about sports, and liked to play chess. Professionally, he followed the example of his parents. After graduating from the Gymnasium 21 in Dnipro with the Komsomol badge "For outstanding school performance", in 1980 he took up graduate studies in engineering at

7533-566: The weekly magazine Profile , and newspapers Novaya Gazeta and Gazeta po-Kievsky . In early September 2007, Ronald Lauder announced that Kolomoyskyi had acquired a 3% stake, and was on the board of directors of, Central European Media Enterprises . In April 2010, through his wholly-owned Harley Trading Limited company, for around $ 300 million Kolomoyskyi secured control of one of Ukraine's largest media conglomerates, 1+1 Media Group , which operates eight Ukrainian TV channels. In November 2019, The New York Times reported that Kolomoyskyi

7626-485: The world into catastrophe. Two days later, Russian President Vladimir Putin described Kolomoyskyi as a "unique crook”. According to Putin, Kolomoyskyi "even managed to cheat our Roman Abramovich two or three years ago. Scammed him, as our intellectuals like to say. They signed some deal, Abramovich transferred several billion dollars, while this guy never delivered and pocketed the money. When I asked him [Abramovich]: 'Why did you do it?' he said: 'I never thought this

7719-803: Was also the only Ukrainian lender to receive permission from the National Bank of Ukraine to open overseas branches. One branch in Latvia , established in 1992, was later implicated in the 2014 Moldovan bank fraud scandal . The operations of a second, opened in the late 1990s in Cyprus , helped precipitate the nationalization of PrivatBank in 2016 . Between 1999 and 2003, Kolomoyskyi gained control of Ukrnafta , Kalinin Coke and Chemical Plant, Ozerka market in Dnipropetrovsk, Nikopol Ferroalloy Plant , and other companies. Through Privat Group, whose board he chaired from 1997, Kolomoyskyi controlled, at various points in

7812-635: Was behind plans to build a controversial ski resort in Svydovets , Ukraine, and quoted a professor at a local university describing Kolomoyskyi as "a leech who sucks our blood here and puts it in Switzerland." As of 2007, Kolomoyskyi was a billionaire listed by Forbes as the 799th-richest man in the world with 3.8 billion dollars. In 2010 Kyiv Post estimated his wealth at $ 6.243 billion. In March 2012 Forbes placed him 377th with $ 3 billion. In 2010 Kyiv Post listed Kolomoyskyi as

7905-434: Was declared a threat to Ukraine’s financial security and taken into state ownership. In 2019, Kolomoyskyi's media power and funding supported Volodymyr Zelenskyy 's successful presidential campaign to unseat Poroshenko. In 2020, he was indicted in the United States on charges related to large-scale bank fraud. In 2021, the U.S. banned Kolomoyskyi and his family from entering the country, accusing him of corruption and being

7998-484: Was engaged in its marketing in Dnipro . After the collapse of the USSR, friends returned to Dnipropetrovsk and began to import various goods - from sneakers and sportswear to telephones. At this stage, they had a fourth partner, the son of a major Soviet entrepreneur, Leonid Miloslavsky. Each of the partners owned 25% in the total business. To pay for imported goods, the partners set up the export of steel products, Kolomoisky

8091-506: Was in charge of this. Soon they realized that it was more profitable to trade the metal, and then they started to import oil products and began to buy the premises for their storage and transportation. They also took up the ferroalloy direction: the group supplied fuel to the Pokrovsky (Ordzhonikidzevsky) GOK, receiving in return manganese ore and sending it for export; Martynov was responsible for this direction. In 1992, Serhiy Tihipko ,

8184-443: Was possible'". Kolomoyskyi initially dismissed suggestions of separatism in Dnipropetrovsk. However, his then-deputy, Borys Filatov argues that Kolomoyskyi, as governor, proceeded to do "a great deal to prevent the so-called Russian Spring taking over" in the region. In April, Kolomoyskyi offered a bounty for the capture of Russian-backed militants and incentives for the turning in of weapons. On 3 June 2014, Kolomoiskyi offered

8277-724: Was pushing for membership of the European Union and the NATO alliance". In response to the announced of US sanctions against Kolomoyskyi in April 2021, the Office of the Ukrainian President released a statement declaring “Ukraine must overcome a system dominated by oligarchs” and acknowledging that “Ukraine is grateful to each partner for its support along the way”. In October 2021, the Pandora Papers revealed that Zelenskyy and two of his Kvartal 95 associates operated

8370-586: Was reached just before the trial was due to start. From 1 April 2016, "1+1" media group ceased all TV broadcasts. According to Ruslan Bortnik, director of the Ukrainian Institute of Analysis and Policy Management, unable to find external sponsors and faced with the determination of the Ukrainian government to secure own television presence, the TV project was proving unprofitable for Kolomoyskyi. Other projects, like Kolomoyskyi Football Club Dnipro where

8463-499: Was registered on 4 September 2000. The launch of the Privat24 project was a significant event in the Ukrainian banking system in 2001. Customers were able to manage their accounts online, make regular payments, transfer funds, etc. In February 2002, PrivatBank emitted its millionth plastic card. In 2003, the Western Union system recognized PrivatBank as the best bank in terms of customer service quality. The Bank also obtained

8556-742: Was removed from the board of directors of Evraz. As of 2024, the Group has more than 19 million active customers. Privat-Intertreyding is controlling the Pokrovsky, Marganetsky, Yuzhny (together with the Russian Smart Group) mining and processing plants. In metallurgy, is controlling the Dnipropetrovsk Metallurgical Plant of Comintern, Dnipropetrovsk Metallurgical Plant of Petrovsky , Nikopol Ferroalloy Plant , Stakhanov Ferroalloy Plant, Zaporizhzhia Ferroalloy Plant and Russian Alapaevsk Metallurgical Plant. At

8649-515: Was the core of the group, as the largest commercial bank in Ukraine. On 18 December 2016, the bank was nationalized by the government of Ukraine, taking 100% ownership. Privat Group officially controls the Privat-TV regional television channel in Dnipro . Ihor Kolomoyskyi, one of the group's co-owners, brought a court suit demanding the right to purchase a controlling stake in Channel 1+1 ,

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