How the Molchanova Group is building up the capital’s land of the State Enterprise "Research and Development Enterprise "Pushcha-Vodytsia"

For almost three years now, the Kyiv courts have been considering a case challenging the investment agreement for the development of 9.7 hectares of land in the Vynohradar residential area, where the Warshavskyi-2 residential complex has already been completed. This agreement was concluded back in 2008 between the State Enterprise "Research and Development Enterprise "Pushcha-Vodytsia" and Oliver-Bud LLC, a company from the orbit of the Stolytsia Group developer, co-founded by the odious Vladyslava Molchanova (pictured). The plaintiff in this case is the state-owned enterprise itself - its lawyers point out that the transaction was not agreed with the Cabinet of Ministers and the SPFU, as required by law. At the same time, the State Property Fund has recently lost another case on this land, trying to overturn the 2014 order of the State Land Agency, which allowed residential development on this territory. Thus, the state is still unable to do anything about developers who are actively developing the Podil district of Kyiv - neither criminal proceedings nor litigation over other plots in similar circumstances help.

As it has become known, two cases are currently being considered in the Kyiv courts concerning the land plot in Vynohradar, where the developer Stolytsia Group is completing the construction of its residential complex Warshavskyi-2.

The plaintiffs in these proceedings are the state-owned enterprise Research and Production Agro-Combine "Pushcha-Vodytsia" (SE "RPAC "Pushcha-Vodytsia") and the State Property Fund of Ukraine (SPFU). The first case, which is pending before the Kyiv Commercial Court, challenges an investment agreement for the development of the land plot in question, which was entered into between the aforementioned SE and Oliver-Bud LLC. The next hearing in this case is scheduled for 11 March 2024.

RC Warshavskyi-2 on the map of the LUN portal

Meanwhile, the second case has already been put to rest: On 14 February 2024, the Commercial Court of Cassation refused to cancel the SPFU’s order to the Kyiv office of the State Land Agency, according to which the purpose of the land was changed to allow the construction of housing on it. Obviously, the State Property Fund has no more "trump cards" left - unless its lawyers find some "newly discovered circumstances" that will allow the case to be reconsidered.

What are we talking about?

As noted in the court decisions on the cases, on April 8, 2008, an agreement was concluded between the State Enterprise "NDVA "Pushcha-Vodytsia" and OOO "Oliver-Bud" on housing and public development with household facilities and engineering and transport infrastructure on a land plot with an approximate area of 9.7 hectares on Pravda Avenue opposite houses No. 66-76. This agreement was set out in a new version on September 19, 2012, but there is no information in open sources about what the changes were.

The main objectives of this agreement were "preservation of the State Enterprise "NDVA "Pushcha-Vodytsia" as an agricultural enterprise", as well as improvement of the living conditions of its employees and receipt by each of the parties to the transaction of their share of the property in the constructed objects or funds from its sale. There is no publicly available information about what "square footage" of the premises or the amount of funds was discussed in this agreement. At the same time, according to this agreement, the agro-industrial complex, as the land user of the land plot, involved Oliver-Bud LLC in the construction of the objects and delegated to it the right to design and construct them. In addition, the agreement stipulated that the State Enterprise should initiate a change in the intended purpose of the land plot, release it from certain objects, etc.

On October 31, 2014, the Main Directorate of the State Land Agency in Kyiv issued order No. 21/0/13-14 "On changing the intended purpose of land plots and approving land management documentation" (this document has not been published in open sources. - KV). This order, in particular, changed the intended purpose of plots that are in permanent use by the State Enterprise NDVA Pushcha-Vodytsia. In particular, the State Land Agency changed the intended purpose of a plot along Pravda Avenue opposite the intersection with Vasyl Porik Avenue with an area of 44.06 hectares (cadastral number - 8000000000:91:066:0096), on part of which the agro-industrial complex together with Oliver-Bud LLC. If earlier this land was intended for agricultural activities, then since then it has become suitable for the implementation of comprehensive construction of residential and public buildings.

On September 24, 2019, the State Architectural and Construction Inspectorate (SACI) issued permission No. ІУ113192671054 to the SE “NDVA “Pushcha-Voditsa” for “Construction of microdistricts I, II, 1 p.k. III, 1 p.k. VI in a multifunctional residential area along Marshal Grechko Street and Pravda Avenue in the Podolsky district of Kyiv” (II microdistrict. 1, 2, 5, 6, 7 and 8 stages of construction)”. Monolit-Stroyservis LLC was indicated as the general contractor for these works. The construction of the Varshavsky-2 residential complex under the Stolitsa Group developer brand soon began to implement this permission. This economy-class complex consists of 13 buildings ranging from 9 to 25 floors. According to the LUN portal, as of January 2024, 10 houses have already been built and assigned postal addresses, and finishing work is ongoing in 3 more houses.

One of the buildings of the residential complex "Warshavskyi-2" as of February 2024 (photo - "LUN")

At the same time, in May 2021, the State Enterprise NDVA Pushcha-Vodytsia filed a claim with the Kyiv Commercial Court against Oliver-Bud LLC to invalidate the investment agreement of April 8, 2008. In support of its claims, the state enterprise noted that the agro-industrial complex must obtain approval from its then governing body, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, before concluding the agreement. Obviously, such a change in position on this agreement was dictated by the appearance of new management at NDVA Pushcha-Vodytsia, which did not agree with the actions of its predecessors. In addition, the claim stated that since the terms of the contested agreement actually provided for the alienation of a plot of land on Pravda Avenue, owned by the state, the State Enterprise NDVA Pushcha-Vodytsia should also have obtained approval from the State Property Fund.

But on July 28, 2021, the capital’s economic court completely rejected the agro-industrial complex’s claim. In particular, Judge Svitlana Chebykina noted that the disputed agreement did not contain anything about this plot being transferred to private ownership. But the State Enterprise NDVA Pushcha-Vodytsia and the State Property Fund, which also joined the case, did not stop there and initiated first an appeal and then a cassation appeal against the decision of the court of first instance. As a result, on July 27, 2022, the Cassation Economic Court sent this case for a new trial by the Kyiv Economic Court. And as noted above, this trial is still ongoing.

Screenshot of the decision of the Kyiv Commercial Court on this case dated July 28, 2021

In addition, in September 2022, the State Property Fund began legal proceedings to appeal the order of the Main Directorate of the State Land Agency of October 31, 2014, by filing a corresponding claim in the capital’s business court. The defendant in this case was the Main Directorate of the State Geocadastre in Kyiv and Kyiv region, which is the legal successor of the said agency. The State Property Fund explained its demands, in particular, by the fact that the State Land Agency at that time allegedly did not have the authority to change the intended purpose of agricultural land, that such an order was adopted without the consent of the governing body of this agency (the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food).

On April 11, 2023, the Kyiv Commercial Court completely rejected the plaintiff’s claims. In particular, the court found that the above-mentioned ministry had approved the change in the intended use of this land in Vynohradar. The appeal was also unsuccessful - on November 2, 2023, the Northern Commercial Court of Appeal rejected the State Property Fund’s complaint. Subsequently, as indicated above, the SPF launched a cassation appeal, which also did not bring any results for the fund.

Context

As the editorial board has reported on numerous occasions, during the first ten years of the new century, the State Enterprise “NDVA “Pushcha-Vodytsia” (better known as the “Pushcha-Vodytsia state farm”, which was engaged in growing agricultural crops and breeding animals) gave away about 1,000 hectares of land in Kyiv and the Kyiv region that were in its use for residential and commercial development under investment agreements. Some of these plots, including land in the capital’s Vinogradar, were received by companies from the orbit of the developer Stolytsia Group, which built and are still building a number of rather scandalous residential complexes, including Warshavskyi, Warshavskyi-2, Warshavskyi-3” and “Warshavskyi Plus”.

The capital’s authorities also played a significant role in the fact that high-rise buildings began to grow in this area. Thus, in 2013, the Kyiv City Council approved the detailed planning document for part of the Vynohradar massif, which legalized the change in the intended use of a significant area of agricultural land used by the above-mentioned state enterprise - they were allowed to be used for residential development. According to this detailed planning document, the population of this area was to increase from 1.2 thousand people to 62.9 thousand people.

At the same time, over the past decade, law enforcement officers have repeatedly drawn attention to how the State Enterprise “VS VA “Pushcha-Vodytsia” manages its lands.

On October 17, 2013, the Main Investigation Department of the Prosecutor General’s Office of Ukraine opened a criminal case on the fact of possible illegal alienation of lands with a total area of about 950 hectares. At that time, law enforcement officers assumed that officials of the State Enterprise NDVA Pushcha-Vodytsia and its then superiors, represented by the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine, transferred plots of land to third parties without proper compensation for agricultural losses, as a result of which the state suffered damages in the amount of 370 million hryvnia.

Similar facts were investigated by investigators of the Podolsk Department of the National Police as part of the proceedings of March 30, 2018. They also pointed out that the State Enterprise NDVA Pushcha-Vodytsia transferred plots of land to specific legal entities (the court rulings specify that these entities are affiliated with the so-called Stolitsa Group association), as a result of which the preconditions are created for the state to completely lose control over the said state enterprise and bring it to bankruptcy.

As part of the criminal case opened by the Main Investigation Department of the National Police of Ukraine on November 12, 2019, law enforcement officers also pointed out the possible illegality of investment agreements that the State Enterprise “VS VA “Pushcha-Vodytsia” concluded with developers. Among other things, investigators pointed out that the “exchange” of hundreds of hectares of land for 4-5% of apartments in the buildings built on it is disproportionate, given the ratio of the cost of such plots and the cost of residential and non-residential development.

Another investigation into the possible "squandering" of the lands of the State Enterprise "NDVA "Pushcha-Vodytsia" was opened by the State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) the year before last - on May 5, 2022. At the same time, most of the circumstances established by law enforcement officers in the relevant criminal proceedings actually duplicate what was previously established by prosecutors and police officers. Among other things, in this case, the SBI mentioned an investment agreement concluded with Oliver-Bud LLC.

However, there is no information in open sources about any of the persons involved in these cases being brought to criminal responsibility.

The capital’s public has also repeatedly spoken out against the construction of the residential complex on the lands of the agro-industrial complex in Vynohradar. For example, in 2022, urban planning expert Heorhiy Mohylnyi recalled that the Varshavsky Plus residential complex was being built with numerous violations of urban planning legislation. For example, according to the expert, GASI at one time actually allowed the settlement of as many as 12 thousand more residents in the new apartments of this complex than the corresponding DPT allows. As Mogilny noted, as a result of exceeding the population density, the capital’s budget may incur insane losses in order to provide residents with the necessary social infrastructure (kindergartens, schools, medical institutions, etc. - Ed.).

Interestingly, now the State Enterprise NDVA Pushcha-Vodytsia together with the State Property Fund are trying to challenge in court the investment agreement regarding the development of another site in Vynohradar with an area of 86 hectares. The development of this huge piece of land is planned by LLC Proektinvestbud - another company in the orbit of the developer Stolytsia Group. The corresponding legal dispute has been going on for more than two years, and the claims of the plaintiffs are similar to those put forward in the "showdown" regarding the agreement with LLC Oliver-Bud - that the corresponding agreement was not approved by the Cabinet of Ministers before it was signed in 2015; that, according to it, the state is actually losing the said land, etc.

Moreover, already during the said legal dispute, “NDVA “Pushcha-Vodytsia”, at the request of the Kyiv City Council and the Kyiv City State Administration, received a number of construction approvals, thanks to which three dozen residential high-rise buildings (up to 25 floors each) and several shopping centers can “grow” on this territory.

Characters

According to the Youcontrol analytical system, the capital’s Oliver-Bud LLC was registered in March 2006. Its director is listed as Nadiya Hertsoh, the founder is the Cypriot company Elakol Developments Limited, the ultimate beneficiaries are Lithuanian citizens Raimondas Tumenas, Maryna Poznyakova and Ruzgien Agne, as well as Kyiv resident Ivan Molchanov.

The Youcontrol system classifies Oliver-Bud LLC as a member of the BT-Invest group and the Vladyslava Molchanova family group . The former unites over a hundred companies and is involved in managing development and retail projects. In particular, BT-Invest manages the Novus retail chain and the aforementioned development company Stolytsia Group. The key persons of this group are Raimondas Tumenas, Maryna Pozniakova and Ruzgiene Agne.

In turn, the Vladyslava Molchanova family group includes more than eight dozen companies engaged in construction and real estate. The main asset of this group is the same Stolytsia Group. The key persons of the group are the capital businesswoman Vladyslava Molchanova, who is a co-founder of the said development company, as well as her son Ivan Molchanov, who, as noted above, is a co-owner of Oliver-Bud LLC. Let us recall that earlier various sources called Vladyslava Molchanova a key financial donor to the capital office of the All-Ukrainian Union "Batkivshchyna" party.

Monolit Stroyservis LLC was registered in Kyiv in May 2015. Its director is Serhiy Stepanov, the founders are Business-Garant Management Company LLC and a resident of the village of Sofiivska Borshahivka in the Kyiv region, Roman Lukashov, who is also the ultimate beneficiary of this company. Interestingly, Monolit Stroyservis was noted as a contractor for almost all residential complexes that have been and are being built in recent years "under the flags" of the developer Stolitsa Group, including the Varshavsky-3 residential complex , the Seven residential complex and the Lipinka residential complex .

The State Enterprise NDVA Pushcha-Vodytsia in its current organizational and legal form was created in May 2002, although de facto this enterprise has existed since the 1940s. Currently, this State Enterprise is headed by Ramiz Kerimov. Before his appointment, during 2011-2023, the State Enterprise "VS VA "Pushcha-Vodytsia" was successively headed by Larisa Usachenko, Alexander Mazurko, Viktor Kirichenko, Vitaliy Kadihrov, Volodymyr Khlopan, Yuriy Kurennyi, Anatoliy Shinkarenko and Yuriy Ionanov (from February 2021 to April 2023).

Let us recall that the latter is a school friend of the mayor of Kyiv Vitaliy Klychko , which Yuriy Ionanov spoke about back in 2005. Also, from August 2003 to September 2005, Ionanov was listed as the head of the charitable organization "Charitable Foundation "Klychko Foundation" .

Until February 2020, the State Enterprise "NDVA Pushcha-Vodytsia" was under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Agriculture and Food of Ukraine (since 2011, the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine), after which it was transferred to the management of the State Property Fund of Ukraine. The State Property Fund of Ukraine has been headed by Vitaliy Koval since November 21, 2023. His predecessors in this post were the current Minister of Defense of Ukraine Rustem Umyerov (from September 2022 to September 2023), Olha Batova (from February to September 2022) and Dmytro Sennichenko (from September 2019 to February 2022).

Since June 29, 2021, the Department of Land Resources of the Kyiv City State Administration has been headed by Valentyna Pelikh (she served as the acting head of this structure since April 2, 2021). From July 27, 2018 to April 1, 2021, this department was headed by Petro Olenych, who since April 2, 2021 has held the position of Deputy Chairman of the Kyiv City State Administration for the implementation of self-governing powers and oversees land and urban development issues in Kyiv.