High Court Judge William Trower vacated the June trial date after lawyers for Igor Kolomoisky and Gennadiy Bogolyubov argued that the men could not focus on the high-profile fraud case in a war zone.
State-owned PJSC Commercial Bank PrivatBank had been due to lay out its case that Bogolyubov, Kolomoisky and six related companies orchestrated the misappropriation of its funds as part of a fraudulent scheme.
Instead, the judge directed the men's lawyers to see whether the case could be relisted for June 2023.
Judge Trower delivered a brief oral judgment at the end of the hearing, saying he was satisfied there couldn't be a fair trial in three months. The judge said he would try to issue a detailed judgment later this week.
The court's decision to adjourn the trial came after a daylong hearing where lawyers for the men argued that forcing them to give instructions to their attorneys in London after fleeing their homes would be unfair.
Mark Howard QC, Kolomoisky's counsel, said his client, a former governor in Crimea, was on Russian President Vladimir Putin's "hit list" and faced "elimination" due to his status as a "leading figure" in Ukraine.
Howard said it was difficult to get instructions from his client, and sharply pushed back at the bank's suggestion that witnesses could testify when many were forced to flee and feared for their life.
"Ukraine is a war zone. Bombs and missiles are raining down. Air-raid warning alarms are going off. How could people in Ukraine possibly give evidence?" Howard said.
He defended Kolomoisky's refusal to state his whereabouts, saying Putin "has him in his sights" and that he could be assassinated en route to a secure location to hear the trial. Even if a peace agreement is reached soon, it would take time for the country to rebuild, he said.
Clare Montgomery QC of 3 Verulam Buildings, Bogolyubov's counsel, said her client had moved to the relative safety of western Ukraine, where the fighting had been less intense, but still faced difficulties securing basic needs such as food and water.
Bogolyubov can chat over Wi-Fi, but it doesn't support telephone calls, and it's dangerous to use a mobile phone because the location can easily be tracked, Montgomery said.
Lawyers for Privatbank, meanwhile, deplored the "appalling violence" but argued that there wasn't enough evidence supporting the defendants' bid to adjourn and thus the court's hands were tied.
They told the judge that their claims were "bare assertions" and that the men may be living far from any immediate danger. They asked court to delay its decision until May, when there may be a peace agreement or more information on the men.
Ukrainians are using videoconferencing to communicate, and it appears that some witnesses expected to testify at the trial spent "hours" on the phone every day, said Andrew Hunter QC of Blackstone Chambers, the bank's counsel. There's a "deafening silence" on why the men can't participate in the trial, Hunter said.
PrivatBank doesn't dispute the hardships, but Kolomoisky isn't a member of the armed forces and there's no evidence he's part of the resistance, Hunter said.
A pretrial review of the case is expected to continue on Tuesday.
The bank alleges that the men used sham transactions linked to the supply of commodities and industrial equipment to siphon $1.9 billion from the bank. Including interest, that claim is now worth $4.2 billion, PrivatBank said Monday.
The former owners, whose assets have been frozen since 2017, strongly deny wrongdoing and have called the litigation "politically motivated" and "misconceived." English and Ukrainian companies allegedly linked to the deals have also denied wrongdoing
The men set aside the case on jurisdictional grounds before the Court of Appeal revived it in 2019.
PrivatBank is represented by Andrew Hunter QC of Blackstone Chambers and Robert Anderson QC of Blackstone Chambers, instructed by Hogan Lovells.
Kolomoisky is represented by Mark Howard QC, instructed by Fieldfisher LLP.
Bogolyubov is represented by Clare Montgomery QC, Matthew Parker and Nathaniel Bird of 3 Verulam Buildings, represented by Enyo Law LLP.
Rossyn Investing Corp., Milbert Ventures Inc. and Zao Uktransitservice Ltd. are represented by Sonia Tolaney QC of One Essex Court, Thomas Plewman QC of Brick Court Chambers and Marc Delehanty of Littleton Chambers, instructed by Pinsent Masons LLP.
The case is PJSC Commercial Bank PrivatBank v. Igor Valeryevich Kolomoisky and others, case number BL-2017-0000665, in the High Court of Justice of England and Wales.
--Editing by Joe Millis.
Correction. An earlier version of this story wrongly identified counsel details for Bogolyubov. It also misstated the case number. The errors have been corrected.
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