Kyiv City Council is preventing MP Isaenko from completing the controversial Woodstory residential complex // collage by KV
Due to the position of the capital's authorities, an agency subordinate to the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine is attempting to renew the land lease on Mykola Khvylevoy Street (formerly Polieska Street, the territory of military town No. 87, Rembaza, Darnitsky district of Kyiv) through legal action. In this location, companies aligned with MP Dmytro Isayenko (elected from the Opposition Platform - For Life, pictured) have already built one residential complex (Poleeska) and are completing a second (Woodstory). It is known that the Ministry of Defense previously hoped to provide apartments for military personnel in these buildings, but did not receive them. Surprisingly, the investigation launched into this matter has reached a dead end. The Kyiv City Council has also had no success in its legal proceedings, refusing to renew the developers' land leases, in part due to non-payment of their share contribution to the city budget, writes HF.
As KV learned, as of October 11, 2022 planned a meeting of the Cassation Commercial Court, at which the servants of Themis must consider the cassation appeal of the Kyiv City Council in case No. 910/12590/21.
In this case, the 28th Directorate of the Chief of Works (28 UPR) of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine is seeking to have a lease agreement for two land plots on Polieska Street (since 2012, Mykola Khvylevoy Street), totaling 5,59 hectares, recognized as concluded. This agreement was concluded with the Kyiv City Council on November 13, 2006, and expired on February 16, 2021. In late 2020, 28 UPR petitioned the Kyiv authorities to renew the land lease. The agency received no response, which is why it filed a lawsuit.
During the hearing of this case, the Kyiv City Council rejected the plaintiff's claims, specifically citing violations of the terms of the shared participation fee payment to the city budget. On October 28, 2021, the Kyiv Commercial Court fully upheld the claims of "28 UPR," recognizing the land lease agreement as concluded for five years. The Northern Commercial Court of Appeals, to which the Kyiv City Council filed an appeal, issued a similar verdict on June 21, 2022. Therefore, the Kyiv City Council filed an appeal with the Court of Cassation.
The history of the construction of apartments for military personnel at the Woodstory residential complex
In the early 00s, the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense planned to build housing for military personnel on Poleskaya Street, within the grounds of Military Camp No. 87. To achieve this, officials decided to attract investors, but first they needed to coordinate all land issues.
So, on November 24, 2005, the Kyiv City Council decision No. 473/2934 agreed to lease two land plots with a total area of 5,59 hectares (4,72 hectares and 0,87 hectares, cadastral numbers 8000000000:63:389:00003:0025, respectively) on Polieska Street to 28 UNR for the construction of a residential complex with underground parking. The lease was supposed to be for 5 years, but continued after that and ultimately expired in 2021. At the same time, the capital's authorities deprived the Kyiv Housing and Utilities Department (KHU) of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine of the right to use these plots (the corresponding land allocation was carried out back in 1948. - KV), and also classified these plots as lands reserved for residential and public development.
According to the court records, between 2005 and 2010, "28 UNR" conducted organizational preparations for the development of the leased land. To do this, they used a rather complex scheme involving third-party legal entities.
Specifically, during this period, the aforementioned Ministry of Defense entity entered into an agreement with ISSO LLC for investment in the construction of a residential microdistrict at the specified address, and an agreement with PJSC Financial Company Knyahinya Yaroslavna for the organization of housing construction at the same location. These agreements (which were in effect concurrently) stipulated that both companies would act as investors, clients, and general contractors for the construction work, in exchange for a certain number of apartments in the completed residential complex. The exact number of apartments involved in these transactions is not specified in public sources. However, it is known that between 2014 and 2017, 28 UNR transferred ownership of 304 apartments on Polieska Street, with a total living space of 1471 square meters, to a number of individuals and legal entities, including ISSO LLC and PJSC FC Knyahinya Yaroslavna. However, the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine never received a single apartment under these agreements.
Subsequently, 28 UNR held a competitive bidding process to identify a new investor to build housing at the specified address. On August 12, 2016, following the results of this bidding process, a contract for the construction of the residential complex was signed between the said institution and the winner, Borispolgorstroy LLC. According to this document, the said LLC received the right to develop a 4,72-hectare plot and, as payment, was to transfer ownership of apartments totaling 1550 square meters to 28 UNR.
On September 15 of that year, the parties entered into an additional agreement, according to which Boryspilgorstroy LLC, among other things, received the right to transfer apartments in other construction projects in Kyiv and/or the Kyiv region to the aforementioned Ministry of Defense institution. Furthermore, the parties stipulated that in the case of transferring apartments in buildings within the region, an area coefficient of 1,17 would be applied. This meant that 1 square meter of an apartment in Kyiv, which was to be received by "28 UNR," was equivalent to 1,17 square meters of an apartment in the Kyiv region.
Efforts of the investigation
Throughout 2018, 28 UNR and Boryspilgorstroy LLC obtained permits for construction work. During this same period, law enforcement agencies became interested in the residential construction on Mykola Khvylevo Street. In September 2018, the Darnytsia Department of the Kyiv National Police opened a criminal investigation into abuse of office by 28 UNR, then the excavator.
A screenshot of one of the decisions in the criminal proceedings
Investigators suspected that this individual, while holding a public office, illegally transferred land plots leased from the Kyiv City Council to ISSO LLC and FC Knyahynya Yaroslavna PJSC for development. Law enforcement officials believe the former official had self-serving motives, as his wife was the director of ISSO LLC at the time the agreement was concluded. The National Police also investigated the legality of the contract between 28 UNR and Boryspilgorbud LLC. Specifically, they discovered that the investor was selected without the approval of the Ministry of Defense. However, according to open sources, none of the suspects were ever convicted.
Legal red tape at the Woodstory residential complex
It's worth noting that in 2017-2018, the Military Prosecutor's Office of the Central Region of Ukraine and 28 UNR (apparently, the legal dispute was initiated by the new leadership, which disagreed with the actions of its predecessors – KV) attempted to challenge the allocation of land on Mykola Khvylovy Street to "28 UNR" through lawsuits. Their arguments were similar. Specifically, the plaintiffs argued that the Kyiv City Council illegally disposed of defense lands by depriving Kyiv City Energy Management of the right to permanent use of these lands without the approval of the Ministry of Defense. However, the plaintiffs were also unable to achieve results in these legal disputes.
In February 2019, the Military Prosecutor's Office of the Central Region of Ukraine filed a lawsuit with the Kyiv Commercial Court seeking to invalidate a contract for the construction of a housing complex concluded between 28 UNR and Boryspilgorstroy LLC. In support of the claim, law enforcement officials, among other things, cited the lack of authority of this institution to enter into such agreements. However, courts at all three levels rejected the claims of the Military Prosecutor's Office and the Kyiv Economic Department of the Ministry of Defense (which joined the case as a third party on behalf of the prosecutors – KV). The final verdict in this case was rendered on March 10, 2020, by the Cassation Commercial Court. The court concluded that the Regulations of 28 UNR do not contain any restrictions on the conclusion of commercial contracts.
"Useful" confusion
It should be noted that by 2016, the residential complex on Nikolay Khvylevoy Street was called Residential complex "Poleskiy"After this, it became known that all subsequent complexes in the designated area would be called the "Woodstory" residential complex. And although the rebranding period more or less coincides with the change of developers (ISSO and FC Knyaginya Yaroslavna were replaced by Borispolgorstroy), there is still no precise information as to where Poleskiy "ends" and Woodstory "begins."
Residential complexes of the Woodstory residential complex on the map
Thus, some sources indicate that the Poleskiy residential complex consisted of two 10-story buildings, while the other six 10-14-story buildings constructed on the said land (one building is still under construction - KV) were included in the Woodstory residential complex. Other resources report that Poleskiy is a single building, and all the neighboring buildings are called Woodstory. Adding to the confusion is the fact that, on paper, two different developers were involved in the construction of these buildings: the Poleskiy residential complex was built under the flag of the developer Knyahinya Yaroslavna, while the Woodstory residential complex was and is still being built under the Perfect Group brand. Moreover, according to the LUN portal, Knyahinya Yaroslavna has six residential complexes in its portfolio in Kyiv and the Kyiv region, but at the same time, some of these complexes (except for Poleskiy and the Woodstory residential complex) are owned by Perfect Group. your site calls his projects.
In light of the above, it can be concluded that all changes in developers and rebranding of residential complexes were formal, and the same people were involved in all the scandals surrounding this construction.
Who is behind this?
According to the Youcontrol analytical system, LLC "ISSO" was founded in November 1993. Currently, this company is registered in Kyiv, at the address of one of the buildings in the Poleskiy/Woodstory residential complex. The authorized persons of this LLC are listed as Anatoly Orlik and Sergey Mayevsky, and the founders are Mykola resident Elena Lepekhova and the Seychelles company Incola Investments Ltd. The ultimate beneficiary of this LLC is allegedly Cypriot citizen Yulia Mina.
It should be noted that until February 2015, ISSO LLC was officially registered in the city of Yevpatoriya (Autonomous Republic of Crimea). This means that for some time, the company was legally registered in the Russian-occupied territory.
Until 2016, Albina Afonicheva, whose last name by 2005 was Oleysker, was listed as a founder of ISSO LLC. According to media reports, she is the wife of Igor Oleysker, now the former head of the aforementioned "28 UNR." Although court rulings in the aforementioned criminal case stated that the wife of the person under investigation is the head of ISSO LLC, not a founder, it is entirely possible that this marriage was precisely what the National Police investigators had in mind, as no other similar matches have been documented in open sources.
PJSC "FC "Princess Yaroslavna" was founded in Kyiv in June 2004. The director of this company is listed as Alexey Koval, and the owner of all 100% of the shares is JSC ZNIKIF Princess Yaroslavna. In turn, the last company through LLC "Spetsstroyinvest-17" Vasyl Shomonko, a resident of Stryi in the Lviv region, and Oleh Tymoshenko, a resident of Kyiv, are the ultimate beneficiaries. They, along with Oleksandr Marynokha, a resident of Kyiv, are the ultimate beneficiaries. Borispolgorstroy LLC, which was registered in September 2006.
On media reportsShomonko and Tymoshenko are part of the inner circle Dmitry Isaenko — a member of parliament of the current 9th convocation of the Verkhovna Rada (elected from the Opposition Platform – For Life party) and the actual owner of the aforementioned development company, Perfect Group. From 1999 to 2007, the latter served successively as deputy head and head of the Central Specialized Construction Directorate of the Ministry of Defense and director of the Department of Construction and Alienation of Assets of the same ministry. It was during his tenure in these structures that the "28th UNR" gained control of land on Mykola Khvylovoy Street in Kyiv.
It's also worth noting that from 2007 to 2015, Isaenko served as Deputy Minister of Regional Development and Construction of Ukraine. As a result, the development company Perfect Group has approximately three dozen residential complex projects in its portfolio, primarily in Kyiv and the Kyiv region. As KV has repeatedly reported, the construction of these projects has been repeatedly plagued by scandals.
At the same time, Dmytro Isaenko, a former member of the Opposition Platform - For Life party, continues to hold the post of secretary of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on the Organization of State Authority, Local Self-Government, Regional Development and Urban Planning and fruitfully cooperates with the chairman of the Servant of the People party. Elena ShulyakIn particular, it recently became known that Isaenko even managed to sell apartments to the National Guard at market price, totaling 54 million hryvnias.
KV certificate: "28 UPR"28 UNR" was established by the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine in October 1997; as of December 2019, this institution has been in disuse. Its current leader is Dmitry Bakanev. Initially, the "28 UNR" was based in Yevpatoria, but in March 2014, following the occupation of Crimea, it was re-registered in Kyiv. The aforementioned Igor Oleysker led the "28 UNR" for nearly twelve years—from November 2004 to March 2016.
The Ministry of Defense of Ukraine has been headed by Alexey Reznikov.
The 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.
translation Skelet.Org
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