NABU vs. Vladislava Molchanova and Yuriy Ivanyushchenko. What's happening?

On Saturday, September 6th, in the morning, detectives from the National Anti-Corruption Bureau served a notice of suspicion to Vladislava Molchanova, the founder of one of the largest development companies in the capital, Stolitsa Group. Law enforcement officers arrived at the businesswoman's home; she met with an infant in their arms.

The suspicion was issued as part of an investigation by the NABU (National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office. It concerns the seizure of land plots near the Kyiv market "Stolichnyy," which has recently been under the de facto control of Stolitsa Group. Another suspect is former Ukrainian Member of Parliament Yuriy Ivanyushchenko.

The NABU served a notice of suspicion to the founder of Stolitsa Group and announced it to Yuriy Ivanyushchenko. LIGA.net I read the documents published by law enforcement.

"Stolichnyy", Molchanova, Ivanyushchenko

The "Stolichny" market has been operating on the Kyiv Ring Road since 2011. It was opened on the land of the state agricultural enterprise "Pushcha-Vodytsia". The land was leased for 25 years.

The co-founders of the shopping center were Roman Fedyshyn, the founder of the Lviv market "Shuvar," businessman Ihor Panko, and companies associated with Ivanyushchenko. The latter's legal entity was the majority shareholder.

In 2019, Stolitsa Group, co-founded by Vladislava Molchanova, began buying out minority shares. The businesswoman stated that she had reached an agreement with Ivanyushchenko to buy out his stake. The deal was worth $12 million, she noted in her suspicious Ivanyshchenko to NABU.

However, after Molchanova, according to her, paid a $3.5 million advance, representatives of the seller stopped responding claimed the businesswoman said in a public statement. (The NABU suspicion involves an advance payment of $2.5 million).

As a result, in 2020, a conflict began between the parties to the agreement. "The conflict was accompanied by a significant number of lawsuits, publications of biased materials in the media, and attempts to block and forcibly seize the premises of the 'Stolichny' market," – states the suspicion announced to Ivanyushchenko.

At the end of 2020, Ivanyshchenko's organization, the "Agricultural Marketing Center," accused Vladislava Molchanova of attempting to seize the "Stolichny" market through a hostile takeover with the help of "black registrars." (The links to this have now been removed).

The then-Minister of Justice, Denys Malyuska wrote a post on his Facebook page about the takeover of the market in the style of the 90s by raiders, who spread the myth in the media: "Yanukovych's friend with a criminal history, Ivanyushchenko, is raiding the market, and the Minister of Justice is protecting him."

The conflict culminated in June 2021, when mass clashes took place on the market grounds.

The confrontation was preceded by an "indefinite protest action" organized by activists of patriotic movements, including the Right Sector. They called for a boycott of the market, claiming that it belonged to Ivanyushchenko and that the funds from its activities were allegedly used to finance militants.

As it became known from the text of the NABU document, no later than October 6, 2021, the parties "decided to try to resolve the corporate conflict through negotiations." As a result of the negotiations, a peace agreement was concluded.

Interesting terms on which the parties agreed. In particular,

• The buyer is acquiring Ivanyushchenko's stake for $10,931 million.

• Ivanyshchenko's companies will be involved in an investment project to develop a land plot of the "Stolichny" market, with an area of 110 hectares.

• Ivaniushchenko's companies are being transferred commercial real estate with an area of 35,000 sq.m, which the other party undertakes to buy out for $17.5 million. This must happen within a year from the moment the building permit is obtained.

• Before the buyout, nine land plots adjacent to "Stolichny" were mortgaged to structures controlled by Ivanyushchenko.

After signing the agreement on July 15, 2021, the parties agreed to discontinue or close the lawsuits and criminal cases they had initiated, and to remove compromising articles from the media.

The parties have begun implementing the peace agreement.

What are Ivanyushchenko and Molchanova accused of

The case being investigated by NABU concerns nine plots of land, each two hectares in size, near "Stolichny". Their value is estimated at 160 million UAH.

The plot outlined in the indictment seems somewhat comical.

According to the NABU (National Anti-Corruption Bureau), the actual controller of "Stolichny" – likely Vladislava Molchanova, or her representatives – organized the registration of land plots in the names of proxy persons through the mechanism of free privatization for "personal peasant farms".

These individuals immediately issued powers of attorney to controlled representatives with the right to sell the land. The then acting head of the Main Department of the State Geocadastre in the Kyiv region was involved in the process, which allowed the land to be transferred to lease to the company "Oilci".

The plots of land were purchased by companies linked to Ivanyushchenko's opponents, according to the NABU document. The surname of the person who controlled the companies is redacted. However, it is likely that it refers to Vladislava Molchanova.

As a result, by May 2021, nine plots of land, each two hectares in size, had been resold to the companies "Proalliance Service" (4 plots), "Dilvay" (3), and "Demol-Ukraine" (2).

In the midst of the corporate conflict, Ivanyushchenko's lawyers filed a criminal complaint with law enforcement agencies regarding the land plots. (Molchanova notes in) post on a Facebook page, claiming that this crime does not exist).

Now, after the settlement agreement regarding "Stolichnyy" was reached, Ivanyushchenko's companies have become co-owners of the legal entities that bought the land from the "nominal owners".

As a result, the NABU suspects him of organizing the laundering (legitimization) of land plots obtained through criminal means by becoming co-owners of companies.

What the parties note

Currently, the suspicion against Vladislava Molchanova has not been made public.

The businesswoman herself, in response to the request LIGA.netsent her post on her Facebook page. "As the suspicion suggests, I am being artificially linked to a prominent figure from the pre-Maidan era, Yuriy Ivanyushchenko," she notes.

"It was his lawyers who, in 2021, contacted the NABU (National Anti-Corruption Bureau), filing a complaint against me about a non-existent crime," the businesswoman writes. "Today, unexpectedly, Ivanyushchenko is urgently needed by the NABU and SAP (Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office) – and his own statement against me has backfired on him."

Yuriy Ivanyushchenko was summoned for questioning at the NABU at 9:00 AM on September 15, 16, and 17. LIGA.netI was unable to contact him or his representatives. We are ready to give them a voice.

"It is expected that the court will seize all the land plots mentioned in the suspicion to prevent their alienation," comments Olga Koval, an advisor at Ario Law Firm. In her opinion, additional expert examinations will be conducted to establish the mechanism by which these plots were acquired. "If the illegality of their acquisition is confirmed during the pre-trial investigation, the likely consequence will be the return of the land to state ownership," the lawyer concludes.