Corruption or reconstruction: DIAM head Semyon Krivonos supports the construction of KYIVPROEKT City Space on the site of the destroyed Kyivproekt // collage KV
Construction of the KYIVPROEKT City Space BFK may begin soon at 16-22 Bohdana Khmelnytskoho Street, on the site of the legendary Kyivproekt Institute building, which was already demolished under the guise of reconstruction. Developers Perfect Group and Saga Development, owned by the infamous Andrey Vavrish and Secretary of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on the Organization of State Authority, Local Self-Government, Regional Development and Urban Planning Dmitry Isaenko Collages on the left and right, respectively). Companies associated with these people recently defended themselves in court against the Ministry of Culture's claims, managing to prove that the Central Historical Complex was essentially absent from Kyiv at the time the permit for this "reconstruction" was obtained. For now, the only person who can put a stop to this development is the head of the Semen Kryvonos (In the collage in the center). However, according to architect Viktor Gleba, this official has his own interests, stemming from corruption on the part of KYIVPROEKT City Space.
As it became known KV, developers Perfect Group and Saga Development are preparing to begin construction of the multifunctional complex (MFC) KYIVPROEKT City Space at 16-22 Bohdan Khmelnytskyi Street (Shevchenkivskyi district, Central Historical Area of Kyiv).
This BFK is officially planned to be built based on the approved renovation of Kyivproekt buildings occupying a 0,77-hectare plot (cadastral number 8000000000:76:023:0005). In reality, as Viktor Gleba, a corresponding member of the Ukrainian Academy of Architecture and an expert on urban development, recently noted in a Facebook post, "only the jaded eyes of reformist corruption can fail to see the demolition of a sturdy Kyivproekt building under the guise of 'reconstruction.'"
According to Gleba, these works are being carried out with flagrant violations and blatant disregard for State Building Codes (SBC) and Ukrainian legislation. Most importantly, the developers plan to include a housing component in this BFC, which is not allowed in this case.
Also, as an expert told KV, during their "reconstruction," the developers occupied land that was not allocated to them for ownership or use—for example, part of the land located under School No. 53 and the road between Ukrgasbank and one of the Kyivproekt buildings.
"According to the Land Code, residential complexes cannot be built on public land. Kyiv's general plan prohibits residential development there. However, according to the State Building Norms (DBN), when housing is built, landscaping standards must be met: 12 square meters for landscaping, 6 square meters for playgrounds, etc. Where are the playgrounds? The technical specifications of the building permit do not correspond to the indicators approved by the Urban Development Conditions and Restrictions (UDR). The UDR made no mention of a residential complex. Furthermore, a capital building belonging to Kyivproekt was demolished—with great difficulty, since the building was not 'subjected' to a demolition crane. It was torn apart, like an abortion. So what kind of reconstruction is this? This is total destruction of property, and this is construction," Viktor Gleba told KV.
According to the expert, the main reason why developers ignore legal requirements is corruption within the State Inspectorate for Architecture and Urban Development (DIAM).
Thus, according to him, the chairman of this body, Semyon Krivonos, informed the State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) that the developers had not committed "any sins" during the implementation of these works, and these demonstrations of his served as the reason for closing the criminal case on the facts of violations during the implementation of this construction.
Viktor Gleba believes that Semyon Krivonos may have been bribed, as there was a previous precedent when a representative of Perfect Group offered this official cash for the commissioning of another of the developer's complexes, the Terracotta residential complex. However, the head of DIAM refused.
According to Viktor Gleba, he also testified in the aforementioned criminal case, citing to prosecutors instances of document forgery and false information, which should have served as grounds for revoking the construction permit for the KYIVPROEKT City Space Charitable Foundation. However, under unknown circumstances, his testimony was not disclosed by law enforcement officials in court.
"So, in one case, Semyon Krivonos doesn't take money from Perfect Group for commissioning a building with violations. Otherwise... How can we explain Krivonos's position on Kyivproekt? How can we explain the fact that a new residential complex is actually being built on the site of his buildings? I blame not only Semyon Krivonos—I blame the entire prosecutor's office and DIAM, who, in collusion with the developer, allowed construction of something that cannot be built legally," Viktor Gleba emphasized.
KV decided to analyze the history of this development. Despite Saga Development's active PR efforts, public activists, experts, and law enforcement officials are actively opposing construction on the site of the famous Kyivproekt building.
"KYІVPROEKT City Space". How the scandal grew
The legendary Kyivproekt Institute was founded in 1937 from several architectural studios. At that time, the organization was based in premises on Khreshchatyk Street until 1981, when it moved to a newly constructed building complex at 16-22 Bohdana Khmelnytskoho Street. During the Soviet era, Kyivproekt operated as a research institute, responsible, among other things, for the design of most of the capital's socio-cultural, engineering, and transportation facilities. During the first decade of Ukraine's independence, this institution continued its activities—in particular, Kyivproekt specialists authored the current Kyiv General Plan, approved in 2002.
It was at this time that the institute, along with its buildings, was privatized. As KV reported, preparations for the controversial construction in central Kyiv were not without the participation of representatives of Leonid Chernovetskyi's team.
On July 14, 2005, the Kyiv City Council, by Resolution No. 746/3321, approved the transfer of a 0,77-hectare land plot at 16-22 Bohdan Khmelnytsky Street to Kyivproekt OJSC (then operating as an open joint-stock company. — KV) for a 25-year lease for the operation and maintenance of an integrated property complex. According to the adopted decision, this plot included the land that the city government had transferred to Kyivproekt for the construction of the institute back in 1969 (0,71 hectares), part of the land that the Kyiv City Council had allocated to the capital's metro in 1981 for the construction of the Zoloti Vorota station (0,02 hectares), as well as municipal land that had not been transferred into ownership or use (0,04 hectares).
On December 13, 2006, the Kyiv City Council and Kyivproekt OJSC signed a lease agreement for this site, and on January 18, 2007, the agreement was registered by the Main Department of Land Resources of the Kyiv City State Administration (KCSA) in the state register of contracts. For more than a decade afterward, rumors persisted that "something new" would be built on the Kyivproekt site. However, for a long time, this information was unconfirmed.
On December 11, 2017, the Kyiv City State Administration's Department of Urban Development and Architecture issued a design permit to Kyivproekt PJSC for the reconstruction of the Kyivproekt building at 16-22 Bohdana Khmelnytskoho Street, to be used for the KYEVPROEKT City Space development. The full version of this document is not publicly available, but according to Viktor Gleba, it makes no mention of the possibility of residential construction on the site.
On April 1, 2019, Kyivproekt PJSC and Concept-Plaza LLC signed an agreement for the project "Reconstruction of the Kyivproekt Building Property Complex for the KYEVPROEKT City Space Charitable Foundation at 16-22 Bohdan Khmelnytsky Street." According to this agreement, the parties agreed to organize the financing, design, reconstruction, and commissioning of this facility (the exact terms are currently unknown, as the agreement is not publicly available – KV). Furthermore, according to the terms of this agreement, Kyivproekt PJSC delegated some of the functions of the reconstruction contractor to Concept-Plaza LLC.
On September 12, 2019, the State Architectural and Construction Inspectorate (SACI) issued Kyivproekt PJSC permit No. ІУ113192621755 for the reconstruction of the Kyivproekt building at 16-22 Bohdana Khmelnytskoho Street for the KYEVPROEKT City Space development complex. Nika LTD was named the general contractor for this work.
The initial data for this permit is not publicly available—due to the military situation, all relevant "construction registries" are inaccessible to the public. However, the characteristics of this BFK were recorded in an expert report reviewing the design documentation for the reconstruction of this complex. Specifically, the report specified that as a result of the reconstruction, the floor area of the Kyivproekt building would increase from 30,3 square meters to 79,7 square meters, and the number of floors would increase from 16 to 24 stories (the construction of 8-story sections is also planned—KV). At the same time, the area of landscaping and improvements was planned to be reduced from 3,6 square meters to 580 square meters. According to the report, this BFK was planned to house 272 one-bedroom apartments with a total area of 23,3 square meters, as well as a parking garage for 210 cars.
In February 2020, the public organization (PO) "People Against Corruption" decided to challenge the legality of the planned development. The organization filed a lawsuit with the Kyiv District Administrative Court (KDC), demanding that the construction permit for 16-22 Bohdana Khmelnytskoho Street be declared illegal and revoked. The PO explained its claims, in particular, by arguing that the use of the land for the construction of the BFK, as well as its inclusion in its residential function, was inconsistent with the intended purpose of the land. The plaintiffs also noted that, among other things, the developers failed to consider the height restrictions for the future BFK during their design, as well as the construction specifics arising from its location within Kyiv's Central Historical Area.
However, the courts did not support the plaintiffs' arguments. On May 25, 2020, the OAC dismissed the NGO People Against Corruption's claim, and on October 21 of that same year, the Sixth Administrative Court of Appeals upheld this first-instance court decision.
When considering this case, the judges specifically noted that the functional purpose of the land (public buildings and structures, and partially mid- and low-rise residential development) permitted the construction of a BFK on it without restrictions on the proportion of residential and public spaces. The judges also noted that the boundaries of Kyiv's Central Historical Area had not been approved by the Cabinet of Ministers at the time, as required by law, and therefore, there was no violation in this case.
Incidentally, it's plausible to assume that the NGO "People Against Corruption" was actually trying to... help developers legalize their BFCs. This practice is quite common in Kyiv—it's done so that if someone challenges the legality of a certain "development project," the developers have court rulings confirming everything is "clean and transparent."
According to journalists, Perfect Group and Saga Development have previously engaged in similar legal disputes over public organizations they control, including the European Law and Order NGO. However, the latter organization and the People Against Corruption NGO share two key characteristics: they have only sued the two development companies mentioned above and have always lost.
Subsequently, law enforcement agencies became interested in the construction work on the Kyivproekt site. On October 13, 2021, the Kyiv Territorial Department of the State Bureau of Investigation opened criminal case No. 12021105100003650 regarding possible violations of the law during construction at 16-22 Bohdana Khmelnytskoho Street. This is the same investigation mentioned by Viktor Gleba. The investigation was initiated under Article 356 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (arbitrariness), but law enforcement subsequently reclassified the actions of the defendants under Part 2 of Article 364 (abuse of power or official position, if it resulted in grave consequences) and Part 1 of Article 366 (forgery by an official) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.
As part of the criminal investigation, law enforcement officials decided to investigate the grounds on which officials from the Kyiv City State Administration, the State Architectural and Construction Inspectorate, the State Aviation Service of Ukraine, and other government agencies issued permits for the aforementioned construction. This interest stemmed from preliminary findings by law enforcement officials that these permits contravened current urban planning and land use legislation, resulting in grave consequences for state interests.
Thus, during the investigation, the State Bureau of Investigation preliminarily established that, despite the designated use of the site at 16-22 Bohdana Khmelnytskoho Street, construction is underway at this address for a multi-story residential complex, "KYIVPROEKT City Space," over 100 meters tall (over 24 stories), housing 272 apartments. Moreover, according to law enforcement, these works were not approved by the Ministry of Culture, even though the site is located within the Central Historical Area, in a Category I development control zone. Furthermore, the State Bureau of Investigation determined that these works could lead to the destruction of the local architectural and urban planning monument "Profitable House, 1883-1884" (12-14 Bohdana Khmelnytskoho Street), which adjoins the site.
One of the definitions of criminal proceedings
Dramatis personae
According to the Youcontrol analytical system, PJSC Kyivproekt It was de jure registered in January 1994, although de facto this structure had been in operation since Soviet times. The listed director of this joint-stock company is Pavlo Gutsal, and the ultimate beneficiaries are Dmytro Raichuk, a resident of Kovel in the Volyn region; Vasyl Shomonko, a resident of Stryi in the Lviv region; and Oleh Tymoshenko, a resident of Kyiv. The current owners of the largest stakes in Kyivproekt are LLC "Spetsrentfinans"and OOO "Jemp" (47,24% each). It should be noted that these LLCs acquired the majority of these shares in 2020 from the Cypriot company Traylor Ventures Limited (which owned 98,7% of the shares).
According to media reports, the aforementioned Shomonko and Tymoshenko are members of the inner circle of Dmytro Isaenko, Secretary of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on State Authority, Local Self-Government, Regional Development, and Urban Development (elected from the Opposition Platform - For Life, a now-banned pro-Russian party) and the de facto owner of the Perfect Group development group. Furthermore, Dmytro Isaenko is the Vice President of the Confederation of Builders of Ukraine, a lobbying organization uniting major developers. Previously, Isaenko served as Deputy Minister of Regional Development, Construction, and Housing and Public Utilities (2007-2015), resigning only due to a scandal involving his allegedly false appearance as an ATO veteran. Prior to this, Dmytro Isaenko held construction positions in the Ministry of Defense.
In turn, the key co-owner of the company "Trailor Ventures Limited", which until 2020 owned the largest block of shares of "Kyivproekt", was for a long time Vasily Khmelnitsky — People's Deputy of Ukraine of the 4th-7th convocations and founder of the holding company "UFuture" (engaged in real estate, renewable energy, pharmaceuticals, etc.). In 2017, he sold his stake in the said company to Denys Bass, the former deputy head of the Kyiv City State Administration. Leonid Chernovetsky (2006-2010). For a long time, Bass was considered the actual owner of PJSC Kyivproekt.
The capital-based Nika LTD LLC (the general contractor for the construction) was founded in January 1992. Its director is listed as Anatoly Savchuk, and its founder and ultimate beneficiary is Oleksiy Starovoytov, a resident of the Kotsiubynske urban-type settlement in the Kyiv region.
This company is also part of the Perfect Group network. For example, it commissioned the construction of the Lebediny residential complex (40 Revutskoho Street, Kyiv's Darnitsky District), which was built under the developer's banner. Furthermore, from 2007 to 2011, Natalia, Dmitry Isaenko's wife, was one of the co-founders of Nika LTD LLC.
Concept Plaza LLC (co-contractor of the construction) was registered in Kyiv in December 2018. The director of this company is listed as Danila Mukogorenko, the founders are KP-Invest LLC, Spetsstroyinvest-17 LLC, and PJSC ZNIIKIF Everest, and the ultimate beneficiaries are Kyiv resident Artem Banya and Olga Kletsko, a resident of the urban-type settlement of Lyublinets in the Volyn region.
The latter, according to media reports, is the nominal owner and founder of several companies associated with Andriy Vavrish, the former deputy director of the Kyiv City State Administration's Department of Urban Development and Architecture (2010-2015) and founder of the development company Saga Development. Concept Plaza's apparent connection to this former official and businessman is also indicated by the fact that the director of one of the founding companies of this LLC, PJSC ZNKIF Everest, is Dmitry Ovsiy, who is identified as Vavrish's lawyer and partner.
The position of Director of the Department of Urban Development and Architecture of the Kyiv City State Administration has been held by Alexander SvistunovThe Department of Land Resources of the Kyiv City State Administration has been headed by Valentina Pelykh (served as the head of this structure from April 2, 2021). From July 27, 2018 to April 1, 2021, she headed this department. Petr Olenich, who has held the position of Deputy Chairman of the Kyiv City State Administration since April 2, 2021, and oversees land and urban development issues in Kyiv.
The Ministry of Culture and Information Policy has been headed by the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy since June 4, 2020. Alexander Tkachenko — former CEO of the 1+1 TV channel and former member of parliament of the current 9th convocation of the Verkhovna Rada (elected on the list of the Servant of the People party, he headed the committee on humanitarian and information policy in parliament).
DIAM was de jure established in December 2020, but this body (which the state assigned to it a number of construction-related functions) only began its work on September 15, 2021. This structure effectively replaced GASI, which officially ceased to exist in September 2021. Semyon Krivonos, the first head of DIAM in its history, has headed the structure since May 19, 2021.
translation Skelet.Org
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