Employees of the formerly well-known rental company "Exta" contacted the editorial office of "Versiya." The Exta employees collectively own the company's office building, located in a prestigious location in central Kyiv, at 11 Shota Rustaveli Street. However, they are unable to gain access. In 2007, the three-story building was occupied, and the employees were thrown out onto the street. Viktor Svitovenko, co-owner of the bankrupt electronics chain "Megamax," seized control of the building.
Today, the former Exta building, occupying 400 square meters, also houses a public reception office for MP Oleh Osukhovsky, who actively defends Svitovenko's rights as the building's "bona fide owner." Osukhovsky, incidentally, chairs the subcommittee of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Combating Organized Crime and Corruption. It is to him that Exta employees, women of retirement age, appeal to support honest citizens rather than scammers. Kateryna Savenko, chairwoman of the Exta Tenants' Organization, speaks about the organization. This organization represents the interests of 68 employees and was reinstated by the courts as the owner of 11 Shota Rustaveli Street. However, Kateryna Savenko is forced to give interviews in her own apartment—the Exta Tenants' Organization is currently unable to access its building. Katerina Ivanovna dedicated nearly 30 years to her original company, Eksta (the Institute of Light Industry Assortment before the collapse of the USSR). Along with several other team members, she participated in the construction of the building itself, establishing connections with enterprises during the Soviet era, and establishing the Eksta Fashion Center after the collapse of the Soviet Union. In the 90s and early 2000s, Eksta was one of the leading companies in the industry, coordinating enterprise activities and organizing exhibitions and fairs.
Employees of the Eksta Tenants' Organization built the building at 11 Shota Rustaveli Street with their own hands.
I worked at the Institute of Assortment since 1978; it was part of the Ministry of Light Industry. The ministry decided to build us a building because the institute was rented and we lacked space. So, a large building was constructed – one for the ministry (a 19-story building on the corner of Rognedynska and Esplanadnaya Streets) and one for our institute, at 11 Shota Rustaveli Street. The institute oversaw the entire assortment of light industry products in Ukraine, including everything from yarn, fabrics, footwear, garments, knitwear, toys, porcelain, and the development of trademarks for enterprises. The institute's specialists helped artists develop product ranges at the enterprises, and then this assortment was approved by artistic councils. The institute, of course, was built at public expense, and we, as the people who were supposed to work there, were involved in the construction. That is, we went to work hours, time – cleaning, serving trays… Basically, we played an active role in the construction. And so, when we moved into the space, everyone was happy. Over time, we established a sewing factory. A small sewing factory where we developed designs and simultaneously earned money for our own upkeep—because when we transitioned to a business-accounting system, we needed to earn money for our own upkeep. At the same time, we opened a store—also with the goal of making a profit. And when privatization began, we barely secured permission to lease this space, as the state wasn't supporting us. Over time, having earned money and received certificates from the state (there were 76 of us)—we decided to buy the building. To this end, we created a tenants' organization, which purchased the building. Specifically, a building, because the sewing factory was the property of the company "Exta." And at a meeting, we decided to assign Piskareva, a member of our team, to sign the documents for the tenants' organization. The tenants' organization purchased the property from the state—it was collective property. And so it remains—collective ownership of this property. ...The ownership of the tenants' organization was registered with the BTI.
The building at Shota Rustaveli 11 was "sold" by a company that never owned the building.
There was this trinity – Piskareva, Litvinenko, and Duchenko. Piskareva was the chairperson, Litvinenko was the deputy, and Duchenko was the accountant for a manufacturing company. But this company didn't own our building. Never had! And so they began quietly selling the building in this company's name. First, an interview with Piskareva appeared in the newspaper – claiming that the first floor was being sold under duress, so that the thugs wouldn't attack us, so that we could work in peace. In modern terms, it was like a protection racket. The explanation was precisely that the building was in the city center, and such a decent building, it was in such good condition, and there were many interested parties. And they would act as protectors, like, look, we're selling the first floor. There was this company called "Leo" that bought the first floor. And since 2008, Svitovenko has been in charge of the whole thing, having taken over the building. So they started handing it over to companies that only existed for a month or two. Then the lawsuits began. We had an initiative group, myself included, who started suing them for the invalidity of the meeting at which 315 square meters of space were sold. The trials lasted for ten years, during which time the building was sold. We had district courts, and now we have commercial courts... And the commercial courts looked at the documents, looked at everything... Previously, we started suing them by arguing that the sale was illegal, that they sold it incorrectly, and that Vlasenko had prepared the documents; all these documents were prepared under Vlasenko's supervision. He was a great help to them, and he supported them for a long time. And anyone who objected was silenced. And all this happened, and we survived it all. We had a lot of lawsuits – over the course of ten years. We appealed to the prosecutor's office, we appealed to the police. Now, finally, victory is on our side – now we just need to get listed in the property rights register. (As Versiya has learned, in 2013 the Supreme Commercial Court of Ukraine recognized the Tenants' Organization "Exta" as the legal owner of the building at 11 Shota Rustaveli Street).
"Osukhovsky wouldn't let us in. And he wouldn't receive us either."
The courts have already restored our right to this building. There was one lower court, a higher court, and then another, a third, and even higher court—and they all agreed that it had been proven that this building was ours. Now we need to be reinstated in the property rights register, and then we'll decide what to do with this building. Again, it's clear they paid good money for the register—all the documents are there, all the grounds are there, but... There's a deputy named Osukhovsky who supposedly supports Svitovenko. We contacted him, I personally called him on the phone—it's true. His assistant answered, and he never called me back. Then we had this episode—an anti-corruption NGO interviewed us, and we went to see him, Osukhovsky, and his office is in this building—at 11 Shota Rustaveli Street. But he wouldn't let us in, and he didn't receive us there. That's why I'm now appealing to Osukhovsky to finally figure out who the owner is, and who owns this building, and to stop protecting thieves. Because it turns out that Svitovenko took over our building dishonestly, and now Osukhovsky is supporting Svitovenko, not us. And the owners of the building are us, the tenant organization, which is not just one person, but many of us.
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