Automatically translated version. May contain inaccuracies compared to the original.
Mafia structures cast a shadow over the capital's authorities and scare off investors
Well-known raider Kyrylo Shevchenko, who, according to media reports, left for Montenegro at the beginning of the year, continues to illegally control land plots and the company LLC “B.M.K.-Building,” which he unlawfully seized in 2020 using forged documents.
LLC “B.M.K.-Building,” a Ukrainian company established to implement the “River Side” project on the banks of the Desna River on the territory of Khotianivka Village Council, Vyshhorod district, Kyiv region, with the involvement of foreign investors from Switzerland.
Kyrylo Shevchenko unlawfully appropriated the Swiss investors' funds in the “River Side” project and the assets of LLC “B.M.K.-Building.”
This was reported by former vice president of the Kyiv City Boxing Federation, vice president of the public organization “INTEGRUM” and board member of the public organization “Protection and Assistance,” Volodymyr Mikulenko. According to Mikulenko, in 2019 Shevchenko, together with Rostyslav Hrekul, formed an organized criminal group aimed at seizing the “River Side” project — all assets and companies of LLC “B.M.K.-Building,” which at that time belonged to a group of Swiss investors and to Mikulenko himself, V.O.
“First, I will note that the pretext for this takeover was another scam that Shevchenko carried out together with foreign national Maor Hemmo. For several years they received money from Swiss investors, such as Marc Rich Real Estate, and others into the bank accounts of the Cypriot company G.L.U. LIMITED ostensibly to finance the ‘River Side’ project and appropriated it. In total, funds totaling about 40 million dollars were embezzled,” the entrepreneur says.
As reported in the media, Kyrylo Shevchenko often hides behind the name of Kyiv's mayor Vitali Klitschko, with whom he supposedly maintains friendly relations. In particular, information has previously been published about Shevchenko protecting illegal trade in the city's underground passages and the raider takeover of the Boxing Federation of Ukraine.
However, Volodymyr Mikulenko, despite receiving complaints about Kyrylo Shevchenko from foreign investors, including reports of intimidation of their representative in Kyiv, is convinced that most likely these rumors are spread by Shevchenko himself to add weight and authority to his persona, thereby discrediting the Kyiv mayor.
“Let me put it this way: I have made and continue to make efforts to convince foreign investors that Vitali Klitschko in no way is involved in the criminal offenses committed by Kyrylo Shevchenko together with Rostyslav Hrekul. I am convinced that Vitali Volodymyrovych is not aware of this whole story about the raider seizure of land, electrical capacity and the management of LLC ‘B.M.K.-Building,’ LLC ‘River Holding’ and LLC ‘PROZRINNIA’ and has no relation to law enforcement concealing criminal offenses established to have been committed by Shevchenko. I am sure Shevchenko manipulates the minds of those he has deceived by referring to his close ties with the mayor of Kyiv, to create psychological pressure on the victims,” Mikulenko assures.
Journalists received from their anonymous sources a recording of a conversation between Volodymyr Mikulenko and a representative of the Swiss investors. In response to a journalist's question, Mikulenko confirms the authenticity of the recording: “Yes, indeed, this is a recording of my conversation with a representative of the family of Mark Rich, who invested money in the ‘River Side’ project and were deceived by Kyrylo Shevchenko,” says Mikulenko. From the recording it becomes quite clear that Rostyslav Hrekul is not their authorized person and in no way represents the investors' interests. In addition, the Swiss representative confirmed that he repeatedly received threats of physical harm from Kyrylo Shevchenko.
“This is a gang, they fear neither the mayor nor anyone else. Kyrylo (Shevchenko — Ed.) told everyone he could kill, stab, etc.,” the investor's representative said.
In his opinion, many investors now hesitate to allocate funds, in particular for Ukraine’s post-war reconstruction, because mafia-like structures such as Kyrylo Shevchenko’s group continue to operate in our country. According to the Swiss company representative, this factor combined with corruption is the main obstacle to Ukraine's accession to the European Union.
At the same time, the group of Swiss companies investing in the “River Side” project expresses hope that, given Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko’s position, who they believe is interested in a fair resolution, as well as the work of law enforcement agencies and the judicial system, the stolen money and property will nevertheless be returned to their lawful owners.
This is what River Side was supposed to look like according to the project for which Swiss investors allocated 40 million dollars back in 2012.
This is what the site looks like now, in 2023 (photo from Google Maps)
Returning to the details of the land seizure scheme itself, Volodymyr Mikulenko notes that in 2019 Kyrylo Shevchenko together with accomplices — Rostyslav Hrekul, Dmytro Karauchenko, Vitalii Kulyk and others — developed a scheme to illegally seize property, namely companies, land, funds and even electrical capacities that belonged to the “River Side” project.
According to Mikulenko, Shevchenko's group implemented this scheme in several stages.
First, in January 2020 Shevchenko, through his associate Vitalii Kulyk, acting on behalf of the director of LLC “River Garden,” carried out actions to raider-seize the right to electrical capacity of 2,5 MW that belonged to LLC “B.M.K.-Building.” For this, Kulyk used doctored extracts from the state register and documents with a forged signature of Volodymyr Mikulenko, the historical director of LLC “B.M.K.-Building,” followed by the illegal registration of the right to this capacity for LLC “River Garden.”
Next, Kyrylo Shevchenko together with Rostyslav Hrekul appropriated land plots on the Desna River bank near the village of Osechyna, where the cottage community was to be built. In particular, in November 2020, Shevchenko K.V., Kulyk V.O., Smertenko S.Ya. together with other members of the organized criminal group, using forged documents of notary KMNO Kaplun Y.V., unlawfully seized corporate rights of LLC “Prozrinnia.” At that time Shevchenko, with the participation of others, embezzled a land plot of 1,9627 ha that belonged to LLC “Vyshhorod Invest Plus,” abusing his official position and without the consent of the company participant Mikulenko V.O., as a result of which Shevchenko K.V. received over 1,5 million USD in cash, and inflicted especially large losses on LLC “Vyshhorod Invest Plus” and participant Mikulenko V.O.
In December of the same year Shevchenko and Hrekul (through a close relative and other persons associated with them), by using forged documents, unlawfully and gratuitously acquired ownership of land plots with a total area of 36,05 ha belonging to the legal entities LLC “B.M.K.-Building” and LLC “Prozrinnia,” after which, together with notary KMNO Ihnatov D.V., using a power of attorney from a non-existent (liquidated) Cypriot company KONOFIX LIMITED — which was forged in terms of its validity period and did not grant any powers by its content — they carried out a raider seizure of the management of LLC “River Holding,” LLC “B.M.K.-Building.”
In February 2021, Kyrylo Shevchenko and Vitalii Kulyk seized control of LLC “River Park,” replacing its legal address with the address where LLC “River Garden” and LLC “First Construction Investment Company” are located, whose owners are listed as Hrekul R.V. and Karauchenko D.H. The appointment of Vitalii Kulyk as head of LLC “River Park” took place without the consent of Mikulenko V.O., who owns a 49,25% share in LLC “River Park.” As a result of these actions, Hrekul, Kulyk and Shevchenko seized and established control over forest land plots with a total area of more than 9 ha adjacent to the land plots unlawfully seized by these persons in December 2020 — land plots of LLC “B.M.K.-Building” and LLC “Prozrinnia” located within the coastal protective strip of the Desna River.
In April 2021 Shevchenko, with the participation of Kulyk, filed for the voluntary liquidation of the companies LLC “River Holding” and LLC “B.M.K.-Building.” And in December of that year they artificially created creditor debt of LLC “B.M.K.-Building” to lawyer Koval Viktoriia Borysivna in the amount of 500 thousand UAH, on the basis of which a de-facto fictitious bankruptcy procedure of LLC “B.M.K.-Building” was initiated.
At the same time, Shevchenko launched an advertising campaign to sell the seized land. He renamed the project to “River Garden.” On the site https://rivergarden.com.ua you can still buy the effectively stolen land that is under arrest within the investigation in criminal proceeding No. 12020100100007369.
Interestingly, the original promotional video for the “River Side” project was posted on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJs5RR5bvvs back in 2014. After the raider takeover, Kyrylo Shevchenko’s organized crime group created a reworked video, changing the project name to “River Garden,” and posted it at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pd3m3FrEXQA..
In addition, Kyrylo Shevchenko carried out illegal development, including fencing the raider-seized land plots, including within the coastal protective strip of 6.1179 ha (cadastral number 3221888800:38:140:0920), and 3.189 ha (cadastral number 3221888800:38:140:0921).
For attempting to restore justice and return money to the Swiss investors whose interests he represents, Volodymyr Mikulenko himself became the subject of a criminal case alleging illegal appropriation of property.
“What is striking is the brazenness of Kyrylo Shevchenko himself, who together with Hrekul R.V. unlawfully seized land plots with a total area of 36,5015 ha, and at Shevchenko’s own statement they initiated a fabricated criminal case against me, in which Shevchenko is listed as the injured party and in which I am accused supposedly of embezzling land plots of 36,5015 ha, which are in fact possessed by Shevchenko and Hrekul. Shevchenko K.V., who unlawfully and gratuitously acquired a land plot with cadastral number 3221888800:38:140:1113 with an area of 7,5088 ha, accuses me of its embezzlement,” Mikulenko says.
Based on information provided by Volodymyr Mikulenko and on open sources, the following facts regarding this case can be established:
LLC “River Garden” never acquired title to the land plots listed in the Additional Agreement that belong to LLC “B.M.K.-Building.”
Checking open sources (Ministry of Justice registers, the NACP website in the “declarations” section) revealed that the information contained in the extracts submitted by LLC “River Garden” is clearly forged.
For example, an extract submitted concerning the land plot with cadastral number 3221888800:38:140:0567 (on which ZTP No. 1504 is located) shows that the entry number refers to a different real right — 34448134. The State Register of Property Rights to Real Estate contains information about the lease right for a completely different land plot located in Zaporizhia region, Tokmak district, and different lessee data — the farming enterprise “BRAT,” EDRPOU code 31260833.
Moreover, the registration number of the application used to form that extract is the number of another person's application concerning a different object. There are also no records in the real estate registers under the search criterion “Registration number of the real estate object: 1968459611365”; essentially it is just a random set of digits.
According to open data on the NACP website, the state registrar Bartko T.M. worked as a state registrar not at KP “PRIORITET,” but at Pershotravenska Village Council of Obukhiv district, Kyiv region, and therefore in fact had no right to perform registration actions.
From the information reference from the State Register of Property Rights to Real Estate regarding all registration actions carried out in relation to the specified land plots, it is evident that the right of lease, the parties to which were LLC “B.M.K.-Building” and LLC “River Garden,” was never registered for them.
Volodymyr Mikulenko, as director of LLC “B.M.K.-Building,” never signed the said Additional Agreement; his signature was forged, as evidenced by the experts’ conclusion following the court handwriting examination prepared by KNDISE dated 29.07.2021 under number №20728/20729/21-32. Mikulenko was not acquainted with and never met Kulyk V.O., who signed the Additional Agreement, knowingly using Mikulenko's forged signature and deliberately misleading PrJSC “Kyivoblenergo” about the acquisition by LLC “River Garden” of ownership rights to the land plots of LLC “B.M.K.-Building.”
According to open registration data, the owners of LLC “River Garden” are Ukrainian citizens Hrekul Rostyslav Volodymyrovych and Karauchenko Dmytro Heorhiiovych, who not only unlawfully seized the electrical capacity of LLC “B.M.K.-Building,” but later together with Kyrylo Shevchenko and other individuals, members of the criminal group, gratuitously acquired ownership of 36 ha of land that had previously belonged to LLC “B.M.K.-Building” and had been lawfully sold to LLC “PROZRINNIA.”
Internet sources indicate that LLC “River Garden” is offering for sale land plots that do not belong to it and that are under arrest by the decision of the Commercial Court in case 908/1487/21 (908/1624/21) dated 08.06.2021, the ownership rights to which were unlawfully acquired by Kyrylo Shevchenko, Karauchenko, and relatives of Hrekul.
On the basis of these facts, Volodymyr Mikulenko filed a petition with the Commercial Court of Dnipropetrovsk region to open proceedings in a bankruptcy case. He appealed to the court to prevent the unlawful liquidation by Shevchenko K.V. of LLC “B.M.K.-Building,” in order to lawfully restore the rights of natural and legal persons in relation to LLC “B.M.K.-Building.”
Ultimately, this whole story of stealing from Swiss investors only worsens Ukraine’s image as a country open to investment. Shevchenko’s figure and the scandals associated with him do not help our country on the international stage. Kyrylo Shevchenko is known not only for raider land grabs but also for many other escapades, and he attempts to hide behind the name of Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko, thereby discrediting him. At the beginning of the year Shevchenko, despite all martial law restrictions, crossed the state border of Ukraine and went to Montenegro.
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