Automatically translated version. May contain inaccuracies compared to the original.
Insight from DIAM and “the right” judges: how Stolar’s circle is building an office center in Kyiv’s Pechersk
The construction of an office center on Akademika Filatova Street, 5 in Kyiv continues to be mired in scandals. Recently DIAM legally halted the works due to a number of violations found during an inspection.
In particular, inspectors found that the plot under this building is designated for residential development and that the Kyiv City State Administration’s Department of Urban Planning and Architecture violated the procedure for issuing MUO for the design of this structure. The customer of these works – Private Enterprise “Intertorg-2019” – has already begun appealing DIAM’s decisions in court. And although the judges preliminarily “unblocked” the construction, this legal dispute led to a new scandal. According to public activists, the enterprise submitted its suit in such a way that it would be heard by a “necessary” judge and so that a knowingly unlawful decision would be rendered. For this reason, opponents of the development believe that NABU detectives should investigate this story. It is difficult to predict the outcome of this conflict at this time – especially since the developers are within the orbit of influence of former Kyiv Council deputy Lyudmyla Kostenko and her nephew, the well-known Kyiv businessman and politician Vadym Stolar (center of the collage).
KV has learned that a scandal is gaining momentum in Kyiv regarding the construction of an office center on Akademika Filatova Street, 5 in the Pechersk district.
Thus, in September 25 2023 the public organization (NGO) “Spilna Varta” filed a complaint with the High Anti-Corruption Court (HACC) of Ukraine demanding that officials of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) be obliged to open a criminal proceeding regarding violations during the erection of the specified object. This was connected to the fact that in September 15 of the current year the NGO filed a corresponding report with NABU about a crime, but the detectives did not enter information about it into the Unified Register of Pre-Trial Investigations (URPI).
Approximate development footprint
However, in September 26 2023 the HACC returned the complaint of the NGO “Spilna Varta” (the reasons for that verdict will be discussed below. – KV). The organization had the right to appeal such a court ruling within five days, but whether it used that right is not available in open sources.
KV decided to analyze what violations in the course of this development might be in question and why public activists are seeking law enforcement scrutiny of this story.
Background
In July 30 2020 the Kyiv City Council, by decision No. 294/9373, approved the transfer of the plot on Akademika Filatova Street, 5 with an area of 0,06 ha for 25 years into lease to Private Enterprise “Intertorg-2009” with the designated purpose “for the operation and maintenance of a non-residential building for ancillary needs of residential development” (cadastral number – 8000000000:79:061:0117). Later, in November 17 2020 a lease agreement was concluded between the city council and the mentioned enterprise.
That same “non-residential building” was located on Akademika Filatova Street, 5 (photo from open sources)
Note that the draft decision approved by the city council stated that the official basis for this land allocation was that since February 2018 Private Enterprise “Intertorg-2009” has been the owner of the aforementioned building with an area of 53,9 sq.m. The document also specified that, according to Kyiv’s master plan, functionally this plot belongs to the territory of multi-story residential development and partially to the territory of streets and roads. In addition, the document noted that part of this land is located within the red lines.
Already in May 5 2021 the Department of Urban Planning and Architecture of the Kyiv City State Administration issued Private Enterprise “Intertorg-2009” the urban planning conditions and restrictions (MUO) for the design of the reconstruction of the non-residential building on Akademika Filatova Street, 5 into a commercial building with administrative premises.
The document stated that the maximum height of the building that “will appear” as a result of the reconstruction should not exceed 27 meters. At the same time, the MUO did not specify other baseline data of the planned reconstruction – for example, the building area, the number of parking spaces, etc. It only stated that the percentage of site development as well as the placement of the design object and driveways must be determined taking into account the provisions of the State Building Norms (DBN).
The MUO also noted that the plot is located within the central planning zone, the historic area of Kyiv and in the third-category regulated development zone. In connection with these circumstances the urban planners stipulated that the project of architectural transformations on this territory must be agreed with the cultural heritage protection authorities. In addition, the MUO stated that the design object is located in a sanitary protection zone, so the State Sanitary Rules for the Planning and Development of Settlements must be met during the reconstruction. The document did not specify which sanitary protection zone was meant.
In November 12 2021 the Department for State Architectural and Construction Control (DABK) under the Kyiv City State Administration issued the above enterprise permit No. KB012211109630 for the reconstruction of the non-residential building on Akademika Filatova Street, 5 into a commercial building with administrative premises. The contractor for these works was indicated as LLC “Spetstekhnika 2017”.
The permit envisaged that Private Enterprise “Intertorg-2009” has the right to erect a 7-story building with a total area of 3,2 thousand sq.m. One floor is to be a basement, but whether this was an “additional” floor was not specified in the document.
It is worth noting that previously Private Enterprise “Intertorg-2009” twice, in October and November 2021, received refusals to issue this permit. One of the reasons was that the enterprise did not provide city hall officials with the results of the expertise regarding the review of the project documentation for the project. It is possible that these deficiencies were later corrected.
It is also interesting that on the project passport installed at the construction site on Akademika Filatova Street, 5 and the photo of which was circulated by the media in the middle of last year, it states that the general contractor of this reconstruction is LLC “BK Spectrum.” Whether this information corresponds to reality is not known with certainty. But it is notable that this company was indicated by Private Enterprise “Intertorg-2009” as the contractor in the aforementioned unsuccessful attempts to agree the start of construction with the DABK Department at the Kyiv City State Administration.
What the developers are “accused” of
Soon after obtaining the permit and the start of construction work, the city’s public community began sounding the alarm – saying that this reconstruction carries a number of risks. For example, in November 28 2022 a Kyiv resident, Valentyn Chornyi, registered a petition with the Kyiv City Council regarding the “return of Pechersk’s water intake wells,” which are located on the plot on Akademika Filatova Street, 5.
The author clarified that these potable water wells were drilled after the Chernobyl nuclear power plant accident in 1986 to provide reserve water sources in Kyiv in case of man-made emergencies (likely why the plot is within red lines or a sanitary zone. – KV). According to Valentyn Chornyi, during construction at this address the commercial object’s wells were concreted over, effectively blocking access to them. The petition author believes they should be returned to the community – because Pechersk residents must have reserve water sources in light of winter blackout risks due to rocket attacks from the Russian Federation. However, the petition received only 925 signatures out of the 6 thousand required, and therefore it never reached city authorities for consideration.
By spring 2023, media outlets citing urban planning specialists reported that commissioning a commercial object on Akademika Filatova Street, 5 would be impossible due to multiple violations. In particular, they noted that the projected building extends beyond the red lines. In addition, the media reported that the construction project was drawn up so that fire access ways turned out to be blocked and the aforementioned water intake wells were destroyed.
In July 5 2023 DIAM, following an unscheduled inspection, decided to suspend the MUO issued by the Kyiv City State Administration for the design of the reconstruction of the non-residential building on Akademika Filatova Street, 5 into a commercial building with administrative premises. The inspection named several reasons for that verdict.
On DIAM’s official site it was stated that as a result of the reconstruction the pavilion at the specified address, where flowers had been sold (that very “non-residential building” with an area of 53,9 sq.m. – KV), turned into a multi-story structure (an office center), and the land plot where construction took place is actually designated for residential development. In addition, during the inspection inspectors found that the Department of Urban Planning and Architecture of the Kyiv City State Administration violated the procedure for issuing MUO and approved them before entering information about this into the Unified State System in the Construction Sphere (UDESC). The inspection clarified that according to the legislation, “creation of MUO is possible only in electronic form using UDESC.”
Subsequently Private Enterprise “Intertorg-2009” decided to initiate legal proceedings to challenge DIAM’s actions. Thus, between 14 July and 16 August 2023 the enterprise several times (at least four) filed claims with the Kyiv District Administrative Court (KDAC) seeking to recognize as unlawful and cancel DIAM’s decision to suspend the MUO, as well as filing motions for interim relief (to suspend DIAM’s decision for the duration of the court’s review). However, in the first three instances “Intertorg-2009” later itself filed motions to withdraw its claims and motions for interim relief.
Eventually, in August 18 2023 the KDAC granted the motion of Private Enterprise “Intertorg-2009” for interim relief and suspended DIAM’s decision to suspend the MUO dated 5 May 2021. The relevant ruling was issued by Judge Iryna Kolesnikova. One of the arguments was that suspending the “urban planning” acts could “negatively affect the construction process and make it impossible to realize the rights of the enterprise as the customer of the construction object.” DIAM has already filed an appeal against that court ruling with the Sixth Administrative Court of Appeal, which may be considered shortly. At the same time, the judges have not yet begun consideration of Private Enterprise “Intertorg-2009”’s claim on the merits.
It was this legal dispute that became the “starting point” for the aforementioned NGO “Spilna Varta”’s complaint to NABU. The NGO reported that Private Enterprise “Intertorg-2009” intentionally filed motions for interim relief several times and then withdrew them so that the case would be assigned to a specific judge. According to “Spilna Varta,” these actions by the enterprise’s officials were coordinated with KDAC judges, and the main purpose of this scheme is to obtain a knowingly unlawful court decision.
The HACC ruling to which “Spilna Varta” appealed does not specify how all this was supposed to happen. However, the algorithm of this possible crime is not new. The fact is that under current procedure judges in Ukrainian courts are assigned to hear cases automatically by a special electronic system, and if a person or business entity is not satisfied with the judge chosen by that “lot,” they look for ways to have the judge reassigned – for example, by withdrawing a claim and filing it again. This can continue until the automated case distribution system assigns the “right and necessary judge.”
Also, according to “Spilna Varta,” officials of the Department of Urban Planning and Architecture of the Kyiv City State Administration committed violations, but what exact “sins” are meant is not specified in the HACC ruling. The NGO indicated that all these figures committed crimes under three articles of the Criminal Code of Ukraine – part 1 of art. 364 (abuse of power and official position), part 1 of art. 368 (acceptance of an offer, promise or receipt of an improper benefit by an official) and parts 1, 2 of art. 376-1 (illegal interference with the operation of automated systems in the bodies and institutions of the justice system).
The main reason the HACC did not oblige NABU to start an investigation based on “Spilna Varta”’s report was that the NGO did not specify concrete facts indicating the commission of the stated criminal offenses. In addition, the HACC noted that violations under art. 376-1 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, which the NGO “attributes” to the figures in this story, are not within the jurisdiction of the High Anti-Corruption Court, and therefore it cannot consider such complaints.
Note also that at the beginning of last year Private Enterprise “Intertorg-2009” announced its intention to obtain in lease the neighboring plot with an area of 0,04 ha on Akademika Filatova Street, 5-A (account number – 79:061:0117). To this end the enterprise filed the corresponding petition with city authorities. Intertorg-2009 planned (or still plans) to obtain this land “for the construction, maintenance and repair of engineering, transport, energy infrastructure facilities, communication facilities and road management.”
However, on Khreshchatyk, 36 this initiative was initially “rejected” because the land allocation contradicts urban planning documentation, since the specified plot functionally belongs to the territory of multi-story residential development. Because of this, in February 8 2022 the Department of Land Resources of the Kyiv City State Administration and Deputy Head of the Kyiv City State Administration Petro Olenych registered a draft decision in the Kyiv City Council to refuse Private Enterprise “Intertorg-2009” permission to develop a land management project for the subsequent allocation of this plot. However, this document has not yet been considered by the city council’s deputies and therefore can likely still “change.”
Key players in this story
According to the analytical system YouControl, the Kyiv private enterprise “Intertorg-2009” was registered in July 2009. Its director is Mykhailo Voznenko; the founders and ultimate beneficiaries are Drohobych (Lviv region) resident Tetyana Chyhyrin and Kyiv resident Lyudmyla Kostenko (left in the collage). The latter is known as a Kyiv Council deputy in the VII and previously VIII convocations (elected from the Radical Party and Solidarity respectively).
One of the most high-profile scandals involving her took place in April 26 2020. Then, in the Solomianskyi district of Kyiv police stopped a Mercedes driving with its lights off, with Lyudmyla Kostenko behind the wheel. Patrol officers suspected she might be intoxicated and offered her a test, which she refused. Along with Kostenko in the car was then-deputy head of the Kyiv City State Administration Volodymyr Slonchak (now a deputy of the current IX convocation of the Kyiv City Council from VO ”Batkivshchyna”, right in the collage) – he got into an altercation with police, and one of the officers was hospitalized with a “preliminary” injury.
Kyiv City State Administration head Vitali Klitschko soon condemned his deputy’s actions and called them “unworthy.” The next day, in April 27 Slonchak resigned from city hall, formally “of his own accord.” As for Lyudmyla Kostenko, she avoided administrative liability for the possible “drunk driving.” Various sources report differently on the closeness of Slonchak’s and Kostenko’s relationship: some media say they are friends, others report they are in a common-law marriage.
At the same time, YouControl attributes Private Enterprise “Intertorg-2009” to the so-called “Stolar family group,” which unites about three dozen companies primarily active in construction, real estate, media and tourism. Key figures in this group are the scandal-prone Vadym Stolar (People’s Deputy of Ukraine of the VI and IX convocations of the Verkhovna Rada; in the current term elected from the now-banned pro-Russian party OPZZh) and his mother Yana Stolar. The aforementioned Lyudmyla Kostenko is not a stranger to this family – she is Vadym Stolar’s aunt.
Recall that Stolar is one of the most influential Kyiv businessmen. According to media, in 2014-2019 he was the main “overseer” of Kyiv, which allowed him to place his people in city authorities, manage the distribution of budget funds and the disposal of city land, and so on. Stolar’s main interests are concentrated in the construction market – media report that he previously had (and may still have) ties to a number of well-known Kyiv developers, including ENSO and bUd Development.
Kyiv LLC “Spetstekhnika 2017” (officially declared general contractor of the construction on Akademika Filatova Street, 5) was registered in May 2017. The company’s ultimate beneficiaries are Kyiv residents Serhii Krysevych and Yuliia Bohatyrieva, and its director is Valentyn Bezdolnyi. The founder of LLC “Spetstekhnika 2017” is JSC “ZNVKIF Skiling”. In turn, LLC “BK Spectrum” (general contractor listed on the project passport) was registered in Kyiv in August 2019. Its director, founder and ultimate beneficiary is Kryvyi Rih resident Pavlo Stiopkin.
The position of director of the Department of Urban Planning and Architecture of the Kyiv City State Administration has been held by Oleksandr Svystunov since November 1 2016. The Department of Land Resources of the Kyiv City State Administration has been headed by Valentyna Pelykh since June 29 2021 (she performed the duties of head of this structure since April 2 2021). From July 27 2018 to April 1 2021 this department was led by Petro Olenych, who since April 2 2021 has held the post of deputy head of the Kyiv City State Administration for the exercise of self-government powers and oversees land and planning issues in Kyiv.
The duties of director of the DABK Department of the Kyiv City State Administration have been performed since January 13 2020 by the deputy director of that structure, Oksana Popovych. She performs this role while the director of that department, Volodymyr Kuzmenko, is on parental leave (he has headed the structure since February 3 2017). The activities of this department have been overseen since 2018 by Deputy Head of the Kyiv City State Administration Vyacheslav Nepop.
DIAM has been headed by Oleksandr Novytskyi since March 7 2023 (until 9 June he managed the inspection as acting head).
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