Swiss investments in the crosshairs: how Kyrylo Shevchenko seized the River Side project lands on the Desna using forged documents

Swiss investments in the crosshairs: how Kyrylo Shevchenko seized the River Side project lands on the Desna using forged documents

Kyrylo Shevchenko, who left for Montenegro, still unlawfully controls land plots and the company LLC “B.M.K.-Bilding,” which he unlawfully took possession of in 2020 using forged documents.

LLC “B.M.K.-Bilding” was created to implement the River Side project on the bank of the Desna River within the territory of Khotyanivka village council, Vyshhorod district, with the participation of foreign investors from Switzerland. Shevchenko made efforts to appropriate these investments. This was reported by former vice president of the Kyiv City Boxing Federation, vice president of the NGO “Integrum,” and board member of the NGO “Protection and Assistance,” Volodymyr Mikulenko.

According to Mikulenko, in 2019 Shevchenko together with Rostyslav Hrekul created an organized criminal group whose goal was to seize River Side, which at that time belonged to a group of Swiss investors and to Mikulenko himself (V.O. Mikulenko).

A prerequisite for this seizure was another scheme Shevchenko carried out together with foreign national Maor Hemmo. For several years they received funds into the bank accounts of the Cypriot company G.L.U. LIMITED from Swiss investors, including Marc Rich Real Estate, allegedly to finance the project, but appropriated them. The total amount of stolen funds reached about 40 million dollars.

In his activities Shevchenko often hides behind the name of Kyiv’s mayor Vitali Klitschko, with whom he allegedly maintains friendly relations. Previously there was information about his covering up illegal trading in the city’s underground passages and the raider takeover of the Ukrainian Boxing Federation. Despite complaints from foreign investors about Shevchenko’s actions, including intimidation of their representative in Kyiv, Mikulenko believes these rumors are likely spread by Shevchenko himself to increase his standing and discredit the Kyiv city mayor.

Mikulenko notes that in 2019 Shevchenko together with accomplices — Rostyslav Hrekul, Dmytro Karauschenko, Vitalii Kulyk and others — developed a scheme for the illegal appropriation of companies’ assets, land, funds and the electrical capacity of River Side.

In January 2020 Shevchenko, through Vitalii Kulyk, acting on behalf of the director of LLC “River Garden,” carried out a raider seizure of the right to electrical capacity of 2,5 MW that belonged to LLC “B.M.K.-Bilding.” For this Kulyk used forged extracts from the state register and documents with a forged signature of Volodymyr Mikulenko, and later unlawfully registered this right in the name of LLC “River Garden.”

Thereafter Kyrylo Shevchenko together with Rostyslav Hrekul appropriated land plots on the Desna riverbank near the settlement of Osechyna, where a cottage community was to be built. In November 2020 Shevchenko K.V., Kulyk V.O., Smertenko S.Ya. and other members of the OCG, using forged documents from notary KMNO Kaplun Yu.V., unlawfully took corporate rights to LLC “Prozrinnia.”

At that time Shevchenko, with the participation of others, embezzled a land plot of 1,96 ha that belonged to LLC “Vyshhorod Invest Plus.” Using his official position and without the consent of the company participant Mikulenko V.O., he obtained over 1,5 million dollars in cash, causing significant losses to the enterprise and to Mikulenko.

In December Shevchenko and Hrekul (through a close relative and other related persons) by means of forged documents acquired ownership of land plots totaling 36,05 ha that belonged to LLC “B.M.K.-Bilding” and LLC “Prozrinnia” free of charge. Later, together with notary KMNO Ihnatov D.V., they, using a forged power of attorney from the liquidated Cypriot company “Konofix Limited,” carried out a raider takeover of the management of LLC “River Holding” and LLC “B.M.K.-Bilding.”

In February 2021 Shevchenko and Kulyk seized control of LLC “River Park,” changing the legal address to the address of LLC “River Garden” and the “First Construction Investment Company,” whose owners are listed as Hrekul R.V. and Karauschenko D.H. Kulyk’s appointment as director of “River Park” occurred without the consent of Mikulenko V.O., who owns 49,25% of the shares in that company.

Hrekul, Kulyk and Shevchenko also seized and established control over forest plots totaling 9 ha that border the lands raidered in December 2020.

In April 2021 Shevchenko, with the participation of Kulyk, filed for the voluntary liquidation of LLC “River Holding” and LLC “B.M.K.-Bilding.” In December of the same year they artificially created a creditor debt of LLC “B.M.K.-Bilding” to lawyer Viktoriia Koval on the amount of 500 thousand UAH, on the basis of which they initiated a fictitious bankruptcy procedure for the company.

At the same time Shevchenko launched an advertising campaign to sell the seized land, renaming the project “River Garden.” On the site rivergarden.com.ua they are still offering for sale the effectively stolen land plots, which are under arrest as part of the investigation in criminal proceeding No. 12020100100007369.

The original River Side video was published on YouTube back in 2014. After the raider takeover the OCG of Kyrylo Shevchenko created a reworked video titled River Garden and posted it at a different link.

In addition, Kyrylo Shevchenko carried out illegal construction, including installing a fence on the raider-seized plots, including within the coastal protective strip totaling 6,12 ha (3221888800:38:140:0920) and 3,189 ha (3221888800:38:140:0921).

LLC “River Garden” never acquired ownership rights to the land plots specified in the supplemental agreement, which belonged to LLC “B.M.K.-Bilding.”

A check of open sources (the Ministry of Justice registers, the NACP website in the “declarations” section) showed that the information contained in the extracts submitted by LLC “River Garden” is clearly forged.

Using the extract for the land plot with cadastral number 3221888800:38:140:0567 (on which ZTP No. 1504 is located) it is evident that the entry number refers to a different property right — 34448134; the registry of rights to immovable property contains data about a lease right for a completely different plot located in Zaporizhzhia region, Tokmak district, with different lessee data — FG “BRAT” (31260833). Moreover, the registration number of the application that generated this extract belongs to another person for another object. The registers of immovable property contain no information under the criterion “Registration number of the immovable property object: 1968459611365” — essentially it is just a string of random digits.

According to open data on the NACP website, state registrar Bartko T.M. worked not at KP “PRIORITET” but at Pershotravneva Village Council of Obukhiv Raion, Kyiv region, and therefore effectively had no right to perform registration actions.

From the information reference from the Registry of Rights to Immovable Property regarding all registration actions for the mentioned land plots, it is clear that a lease right between LLC “B.M.K.-Bilding” and LLC “River Garden” was never registered.

According to open registry data, the owners of LLC “River Garden” are Ukrainian citizens Hrekul Rostyslav Volodymyrovych and Karauschenko Dmytro Heorhiiovych, who not only unlawfully appropriated the electrical capacity of LLC “B.M.K.-Bilding” but later together with Kyrylo Shevchenko and other members of the criminal group acquired ownership free of charge of 36 ha of land that previously belonged to LLC “B.M.K.-Bilding” and had been lawfully sold to LLC “PROZRINNIA.”

Internet sources indicate that LLC “River Garden” offers for sale land plots that do not belong to it and are under arrest according to the decision of the commercial court in cases No. 908/1487/21 and No. 908/1624/21 dated 08.06.2021. Ownership of these plots was unlawfully acquired by Kyrylo Shevchenko, Karauschenko and relatives of Hrekul.

On the basis of these facts Volodymyr Mikulenko filed an application with the Commercial Court of Dnipropetrovsk region to open proceedings in a bankruptcy case. The purpose of the appeal was to prevent the unlawful liquidation by Kyrylo Shevchenko of LLC “B.M.K.-Bilding” and to lawfully restore the rights of natural and legal persons regarding this company.

This story of stealing from Swiss investors worsens Ukraine’s image as a country open to investment. Shevchenko’s activities and the scandals associated with him also do not add positive aspects to Ukraine’s international image. Kyrylo Shevchenko is known not only for raider land seizures but also for other unlawful actions, while attempting to hide behind the name of Kyiv’s mayor Vitali Klitschko, discrediting him. At the beginning of the year Shevchenko, despite wartime travel restrictions, left Ukraine across the state border for Montenegro.