Thanks to Igor Kushnir’s activities Kyivmiskbud on verge of bankruptcy with more than twenty thousand investors at risk

Very rarely does Igor Kushnir from Kyivmiskbud think about returning the billions of hryvnias stolen from Kyiv residents.

In reality, Igor Kushnir has long managed to come out of any situation unscathed. Judging by the interviews easily given by the head of “Kyivmiskbud”, Igor Kushnir, the storm that surrounded him after his ascent of Everest and the beginning of an audit in his company has conveniently subsided.

Let us remind you that in the summer of last year, Igor Nikolaevich Kushnir mysteriously disappeared from Kyiv after “Kyivmiskbud” reached the peak of its problems with construction projects, and rumors of its bankruptcy began to spread.

Before this, a session of the Kyiv City Council denied the company additional capitalization of one billion hryvnias – “Kyivmiskbud” is formally municipal property, although, in reality, it’s just a facade that allows for the siphoning of funds from the city budget and creating the illusion of a reliable developer. Thus, the disappearance of its president was a very troubling phenomenon against the backdrop of the fact that “Kyivmiskbud” had 22 stalled projects, into which more than 20,000 investors had put their money.

The fire was further fueled by the Kyiv City Council’s refusal to recapitalize, although it was unclear how this could save “Kyivmiskbud” from a hole – according to data from the company’s own specialists, at least 24 billion hryvnias are needed to complete all its projects. How one billion would resolve this situation is unclear to anyone.

Thanks to Igor Kushnir’s activities Kyivmiskbud on verge of bankruptcy with more than twenty thousand investors at risk

However, against the backdrop of investor panic, who felt the real threat of being left without both money and housing, the news of the Kyiv City Council’s refusal to help Kushnir out of the pit was quite understandable. Moreover, Igor Kushnir vanished, causing investors to panic. But Kushnir was not missing for long – he was found climbing Mount Everest, which he conquered along with his wife, earning him a Wikipedia article as the “first disabled person from Ukraine to conquer Everest”:

Thanks to Igor Kushnir’s activities Kyivmiskbud on verge of bankruptcy with more than twenty thousand investors at risk

This event undoubtedly filled the hearts of other Ukrainians with pride, especially those who were limited in their ability to travel abroad during the military actions. Even more so, it calmed the twenty thousand families whose investments in the 22 “Kyivmiskbud” projects were locked up.

Why did Igor Kushnir plunder “Kyivmiskbud”?

Nevertheless, not everyone found peace, as some, tired of promises from “Kyivmiskbud” and refusals to return their funds, turned to the courts. After a long and persistent battle, which lasted more than two years, an avalanche finally began to move, and the court made a precedent-setting decision to terminate the preliminary (investment) agreement between “Kyivmiskbud” and the investor, obliging the developer to return the funds to the buyer.

Thanks to Igor Kushnir’s activities Kyivmiskbud on verge of bankruptcy with more than twenty thousand investors at risk

Why is the decision precedent-setting? Because it indeed shifted the avalanche. And this avalanche could accelerate the collapse of “Kyivmiskbud” – now each of the 20,000 investors has a one hundred percent chance to terminate their contract with “Kyivmiskbud” and demand their invested money back. And the courts will no longer last as long – there is a precedent that the court will rely on when making its decision. Predicting what this will lead to for “Kyivmiskbud”, already experiencing enormous financial pressure and having two dozen frozen projects, doesn’t require much speculation. Truthfully, it’s very dubious that all investors will manage to get their invested funds back, but the first ones might make it – it’s unlikely anyone would buy unfinished buildings once the enforcement service puts them up for sale, but equipment and machinery will be sold off quickly. This money will surely not be enough for everyone, or, to paraphrase Kushnir’s boss, Vitali Klitschko, “not everyone can, few can do it.” But there is a chance.

However, a miracle could happen and, fearing a revolt – 20,000 people who were shamelessly thrown out of their hard-earned money are not the cultured botanists who drink coffee on the steps of the Kyiv Council on Saturdays, protesting against municipal funds being paved into asphalt – the mayor’s office could still roll these very funds into concrete of Kushnir’s unfinished buildings, thus silencing “Kyivmiskbud” investors. From a societal point of view, this decision would be understood – supposedly, the Kyiv Council is saving unfortunate homebuyers from becoming homeless, but from the standpoint of embezzling budget funds, the situation would look worse than asphalt on the spot of the current asphalt and the paving tiles on top of sidewalks, on which the capital’s budget is currently cut. Because it is not by accident that “Kyivmiskbud” fell into a 24-billion-hryvnia financial pit. It was Igor Kushnir, leading the holding since 2012, who brought it to this hole. And the belief that Kyiv’s authorities were unaware of what was happening in the holding is held by “not all, not many”.

Kushnir’s successful work in this warm spot has not been hindered by changes in power, nor by the fact that he had to hide in Russia for a time (after Yanukovych’s flight), nor by constant financial scandals in “Kyivmiskbud”, nor by the fact that from a formally city structure, “Kyivmiskbud” turned into a private shop, where subcontracts are given to companies either directly belonging to Igor Kushnir and Vadim Stolar or affiliated with both. Primarily, these are the companies bUd development, IB Alliance, and BudCapital, which are in the top 5 developers of Kyiv.

Thanks to Igor Kushnir’s activities Kyivmiskbud on verge of bankruptcy with more than twenty thousand investors at risk

According to EP, bUd development is backed by Igor Kushnir, Vadim Stolar, and Vlada Molchanova. Vadim Stolar is a scandalous developer referred to as the “grey cardinal” of the capital’s construction market, and a pro-Russian deputy from the Party of Regions and OPFL. Vlada Molchanova is the co-owner of the developer Stolitsa Group, a colleague of the eternal opponent of Yanukovych, Yulia Tymoshenko, and one of the main sponsors of “Batkivshchyna”. Formally, bUd development belongs to other people, hidden behind three limited liability companies, but players in the capital’s real estate market clearly name the surnames Kushnir, Stolar, and Molchanova.

Thanks to Igor Kushnir’s activities Kyivmiskbud on verge of bankruptcy with more than twenty thousand investors at risk

For IB Alliance, besides Kushnir, Vadim Stolar is also standing behind it, although formally they are, naturally, not involved, and the founder of the company is hidden in Switzerland:

Thanks to Igor Kushnir’s activities Kyivmiskbud on verge of bankruptcy with more than twenty thousand investors at risk

The same goes for the third developer from the top five developers in Kyiv, BudCapital, which belongs to Stolar and Kushnir.

All the listed companies depend on the objects of “Kyivmiskbud” and participate in the construction of projects belonging to other companies from this trio. BUD Development, for example, is involved in the construction of the second phase of the residential complex “French Quarter”, having received a subcontract from “Kyivmiskbud”. It is also involved in the construction of objects on Bagovutivska Street, which it took from the city holding, and in finishing the construction of objects that previously belonged to the bank “Arkada”, and passed into the ownership of “Kyivmiskbud”. The firm IB Alliance, in addition to its own projects Star City and “Tower on Lomonosov”, is involved in the construction of residential complexes BUD Development and has a long-term partnership with “Kyivmiskbud”. BudCapital, the third company within the Stolar-Kushnir sphere of influence, is responsible for the projects RC “Dibrova Park” and RC “Great”, and is also involved in the construction of RC “Zarechny”. In its projects, one can also find mention of Stepan Chernovetsky, the son of the former mayor of Kyiv.

How did Igor Kushnir avoid prison for the “Kyivmiskbud” scam?

As for the personality of Igor Kushnir, in addition to the mentioned developers and constructions, he also has an astonishing amount of real estate and a huge car fleet registered to his wife and children. This has been written about many times, but after a brief wave of indignation, everything returns to normal, and there are no consequences for Kushnir. Even the discovered villa on the French Riviera, with an area of 850 meters, registered to Kushnir’s wife, did not bother him at all. He, without batting an eye, stated that his wife took a loan at a low-interest rate to purchase it, and he has nothing to do with it. And in general – his wife lives either in Cyprus or in France, while Igor Kushnir languishes in Kyiv on a disability pension, living in a tent:

Thanks to Igor Kushnir’s activities Kyivmiskbud on verge of bankruptcy with more than twenty thousand investors at risk

Commenting here is excessive. If Igor Kushnir considers all the residents of Ukraine underdeveloped, that is his right. Moreover, while not in relation to everyone, he indeed has grounds to think so – if after all the scandals surrounding his activities as head of “Kyivmiskbud”, Kushnir still hasn’t been jailed, it’s partly because the population of Ukraine is tolerant of both him and those whose duty is to handle people like him and his ilk.

However, let’s set aside this philosophy and focus on what awaits “Kyivmiskbud” and its suspended constructions, amounting to twenty objects, with the volume of frozen construction, according to Igor Kushnir himself, exceeding one million two hundred thousand square meters. If any of the potential victims possessing this million-plus square meters felt relief from Vitali Klitschko’s statement that Igor Kushnir was temporarily removed from managing “Kyivmiskbud”, they probably misunderstood the situation. Because “temporarily removed” does not mean “dismissed”. Kushnir is temporarily removed during the audit period. On the “Kyivmiskbud” website, Igor Kushnir is still listed as the president and chairman of the holding’s board.

Check it out. However, regarding the audit, do not rely too much on it – Kushnir himself has stated that he has already endured over a dozen such audits. So, the audit can be viewed as a fairy tale that lulls infants before sleep. And the dream itself is likely to be quite terrifying – the bankruptcy of “Kyivmiskbud”. And if anyone thinks that other Kushnir companies would want to take on the unfinished projects, they are mistaken – Kushnir is not engaged in charity.