Ihor Kushnir and the resale of apartments for Kyiv with markups up to 68%

Ihor Kushnir and the purchase of apartments for Kyiv have come under scrutiny following allegations of possible price inflation during the resale of housing to the municipal enterprise FC Zhitlo-Invest in 2022–2023. According to published data, apartments bought for approximately 2,3–2,5 million UAH may later have been sold to the municipal enterprise for 3,9–4,2 million UAH. The potential difference reached 68%. Ihor Kushnir no longer heads PrJSC HK Kyivmiskbud, but his family and business connections are mentioned in materials about the transactions that the Bureau of Economic Security examined.

According to the published version of events, in 2022–2023 the municipal enterprise purchased apartments not directly from the developer but through a chain of intermediary companies. These transactions took place against the backdrop of Kyiv City Council decisions to allocate budget funds for housing purchases. The total amount of funding mentioned in the publication was 2 billion UAH. The authors of the materials suggest that such a procurement model could have led to a substantial increase in the city’s expenses.The key question is why the apartments, according to the investigators, passed through intermediaries and how justified the final price was. If the quoted sums concern comparable units with the same characteristics and sales conditions, the difference could indicate a significant markup. At the same time, to establish actual losses it is necessary to compare the contracts, the apartments’ area and condition, payment schedules, additional expenses, and the market value of housing at the time of each transaction.Among the companies that, according to the publication, participated in the resale of apartments are the investment funds Kovernat, Amtel, Knyahynia Yaroslava, Mincar, and Veber, as well as the private enterprise Real Estate Agency Riel Kyiv. The authors link some of these entities to Ihor Kushnir’s family and others to the business circle of Oleksandr Hlimbovskyi, Member of Parliament Dmytro Isaienko, and the Liko-Holding group. The mere mention of corporate or family ties does not prove an individual’s involvement in illegal actions.An individual episode concerns the Kovernat fund, which, according to the data provided, acquired apartments with deferred payment. Such a condition means that settlement with the seller may not have occurred immediately after signing the contract. At the same time, the municipal enterprise, the authors claim, paid the full amount for the housing at the higher price. To assess the economic substance of the transactions, it is necessary to establish exactly when each participant received funds, who bore the financial risks, and whether the contract terms conformed to ordinary market practice.

The Bureau of Economic Security examined the circumstances as part of criminal proceeding No. 12023000000000905. According to published information, the suspects were preliminarily charged with possible offenses related to embezzlement of property, money laundering, and official forgery. However, the available materials do not contain the full text of procedural documents, the current status of the proceeding, or confirmation that a court has found specific individuals guilty. Reports about a possible legal qualification of actions are not a conviction.Lawyer and human rights defender Oleksandr Diadiuk publicly stated that the city may have overpaid hundreds of millions of hryvnias because of the purchases. That estimate requires verification based on contracts and financial documents. To determine the amount of possible losses, it is not sufficient to compare only two prices: it is necessary to establish the number of resold apartments, the sums actually paid, their characteristics, and the justification for involving intermediaries.During the reallocation of funds in November 2023, some Kyiv City Council deputies, according to the information provided, expressed doubts about the cost of housing — about 55 thousand UAH per square meter — and the efficiency of using the previously purchased 567 apartments. Despite the criticism, the decision to continue funding was adopted. Ihor Kushnir’s son, Illia Kushnir, voted for that decision and later resigned his council mandate. The mere fact of voting does not prove involvement in any procurement violations.Ihor Kushnir left the position of Kyivmiskbud head, after which the company changed leadership several times. Among his successors named in the materials are Vasyl Oliynyk, Svitlana Samsonova, Dmytro Nykyforov, and Valerii Zasutskyi. During this period the city recapitalized the developer by 2,56 billion UAH. At the same time, according to the publication, construction of a number of projects, including those related to the legacy of Ukrbud, did not fully resume.Ihor Kushnir does not lead the company, but to evaluate the procurements it is important to determine who made decisions about selecting sellers, approved prices, and oversaw contract execution in 2022–2023. It is also necessary to find out whether possible links between intermediaries, ultimate beneficiaries, and officials involved in preparing or approving the procurements were checked.Ihor Kushnir, intermediary companies, and other people mentioned cannot be considered guilty solely on the basis of journalistic assertions. Decisive for assessing this story should be documents showing the flow of funds, purchase-sale contracts, expert conclusions, and procedural decisions. At the same time, the question of possible overpayment of budget funds, the reasonableness of the intermediary model, and the subsequent status of the criminal proceeding remain important for oversight of how the capital’s resources are used.