Deposit Guarantee Fund files $1.2 billion lawsuit against billionaire Zhevago.

Ukraine’s Deposit Guarantee Fund said on Jan. 4 that it had filed a Hr 46 billion ($1.2 billion) lawsuit against Kostiantyn Zhevago, the former owner of Finance & Credit Bank, seeking compensation for losses sustained by the bank and its creditors.

The lawsuit was filed with the Kyiv Commercial Court.

The fund explained that the decision to take legal action was made possible due to the documents and evidence collected during the consideration of the case by the High Court of England and Wales.

The court ultimately decided that it did not have jurisdiction to hear the case.

However, it recognized the validity of the fund’s grounds for a worldwide seizure of Zhevago’s assets and obtained his written commitment to participate in the legal process in Ukraine.

According to Viktor Novikov, a deputy managing director of the Deposit Guarantee Fund, the fund received the final conclusions from London lawyers in the summer and has been preparing for legal proceedings in Ukraine since then.

The French authorities detained Zhevago at the Courchevel ski resort at the request of the State Investigation Bureau of Ukraine on Dec. 27.

In 2019 Zhevago was charged with embezzling and laundering $113 million at Finance & Credit Bank.

In 2021 Zhevago was put on the Interpol wanted list.

With a net worth of $1.4 billion, Zhevago is the fifth richest Ukrainian, according to a recent list by Forbes Ukraine. Ferrexpo, a London-listed iron pellet producer, is his main asset.

Zhevago was a member of Ukraine’s parliament from 1998 to 2019.