Ukrainian billionaires lost a UK court case over a $1.9B bank fraud.

The case involves Ukrainian oligarchs who lost a London court decision related to a scam that drained billions from state-owned Privatbank PJSC. In 2017, the bank sued former billionaires Igor Kolomoisky and Gennady Bogolyubov, accusing them of funneling $1.9 billion through fake loans and trade documents to secretly owned companies in England and the British Virgin Islands in 2013-2014.

Judge William Trower described their actions as a “highly complex loan recycling scheme” and said they are liable for damages to the bank, with the exact amount to be decided later. As a result of the scheme, Privatbank required a bailout and was nationalized in 2016. Kolomoisky and Bogolyubov’s assets were frozen by UK courts in 2017.

The oligarchs’ assets were spread across at least 33 jurisdictions, the bank’s lawyer told the court on Wednesday after the ruling. This decision is important for Ukraine as it reflects on its connections to influential oligarchs. It also comes at a time of increasing anti-corruption protests in Ukraine, following efforts by the Ukrainian parliament and President Zelenskyy to strengthen controls over anti-corruption agencies.