05.02.2025
Kharkiv
Kyiv
The loud return of StroyCity fraudster Maslennikov. Life in Monaco and Dubai, a brand new Rolls Royce at the expense of investors
Who is Stroy City and who is helping to lobby for the developer’s interests in the Kharkiv construction market?
While Kharkiv remains the target of shelling and enemy drones, local authorities seem to have decided to quietly distribute land and give it to close companies, including the notorious Stroy City, which already has thousands of defrauded investors and unfinished projects behind it.
Recently, the Kharkiv authorities allocated 37 acres of land for the construction of a “hotel, residential and office center with a shopping and entertainment complex and built-in parking” at 3 Blahovishchenskyi Square, which is close to the Cathedral of the Annunciation. These actions were carried out without an auction at a reduced cost, which has already cost the frontline city millions, and will continue to do so after the construction of the complex.
The land plot was transferred to KPM Kharkiv Bud LLC, a company established at the end of 2022, which has not received a single hryvnia of income in 2 years. At the same time, the authorized capital of the company is UAH 20 thousand. So, how will Kharkiv Bud with a budget of UAH 20 thousand and UAH 0 of income build a shopping mall in Kharkiv?
The fact is that Kharkiv Bud is a typical example of fictitious companies created by large and influential developers like Stroy City to avoid liability for unperformed work, and therefore to protect against reputational damage, tax evasion and other financial fraud.
As practice shows, construction through such “one-day” legal entities has no legal force, and therefore investors are left without guarantees.
Obviously, obtaining a plot near a cultural monument in the historic center of Kharkiv was not without the direct involvement of local authorities. For example, Serhiy Kuzmin, the deputy mayor in charge of land, architectural and construction decisions. Kuzmin has extensive experience in urban planning, and moreover, he used to head the State Architectural and Construction Inspectorate of Ukraine (SACI), a body that has always been considered one of the most corrupt in the country. There, Kuzmin actually played the role of a “lookout,” helping Stolar and Komarnitsky to get the best plots of land in the capital for their own residential complexes. The man did not work at the SACI for long and was dismissed with a scandal.
Now, Kuzmin is giving away Kharkiv’s land, legalizing unauthorized construction, and receiving kickbacks for solving any construction issues.
“Kharkiv Bud is actually a project of the scandalous Stroy City developer Yegor Maslennikov. To understand, Stroy City already has a number of unfinished projects in Kharkiv. During its presence on the construction market, the developer has not commissioned a single object. And the only completion at 118 Heroiv Kharkiv Avenue, the Urban City residential complex, must be demolished by court order. According to the Kharkiv Regional Prosecutor’s Office, the developer built the complex unauthorizedly, as the land in question was not allocated to him, under the guise of reconstructing a non-existent building.
And now, Stroy City, through a controlled company, is once again receiving a plot in the historic center of Kharkiv – 37 acres, which will likely be overgrown with new unfinished buildings, and Maslennikov will enrich himself by more than one million.
How did Stroy City get the best plots of land in Kharkiv for years?
For many years, Stroy City, with the lobbying of Kuzmin and a department of the Kharkiv City Council, was looking for promising land plots and registering ownership of buildings that never existed on these plots in the names of controlled entities. Subsequently, applications were submitted to the city council to grant them ownership of the land plots for the maintenance of these structures, which allowed them to avoid bidding.
City council officials, some of whom were members of the criminal organization, such as Kuzmin, and some of whom were under its influence, ensured that decisions were made to grant the relevant land rights, for which they received undue benefits in the form of money and real estate.
The same scheme was implemented in Kyiv, where yesterday the NABU conducted searches at the offices of Komarnytskyi’s chief “supervisor” and his lobbyists from the Kyiv City State Administration. So, we expect similar measures in Kharkiv. Kuzmin has been waiting for law enforcement visits and exposure of construction and land schemes with his participation for a long time.
Transfer of Ukrbud’s facilities in Kyiv to Stroy City Development Group
Not so long ago, Kharkiv businessman Maslennikov was wanted for serious financial scams involving unfinished residential complexes and investor fraud.
Most of the Ukrainians who invested in Stroy City real estate lost their money, and some were even left homeless.
Now Maslennikov has returned his business interests to Ukraine and is actively looking for investors again, but in Kyiv. The developer promises “golden mountains,” but the promises are only empty words and schemes that lead to financial losses for gullible citizens.
The Crystal Residence residential complex is one of the most discussed projects in the capital of Ukraine. Back in 2019, construction was frozen due to the bankruptcy of Ukrbud. However, in the following years, a new developer, Stroy City Development Group, led by Yegor Maslennikov, decided to resume the project to “help fill the gaps in the housing market.” The construction was scheduled to be completed in 2022, but due to the war, the work was halted, and no major changes were observed on the construction site until 2025.
Now Maslennikov has announced that he will continue to work at his own expense. One wonders where the businessman got the money for such a luxurious project and why the financing of Stroy City Development Group is still in question.
It is known that most of the objects that Stroy City promised to build were never completed, and instead of real residential complexes, only loud marketing campaigns appeared.
In fact, Maslennikov’s Stroy City is just a company created to lure investors into fraudulent schemes. As you can see, this is not a company responsible for construction, but just a ruse to get money. All the promises are just marketing, which has nothing to do with reality. The Kyiv authorities, including Mayor Klitschko, are aware of this. But it seems that this “scenario” suits everyone, including the Kyiv City State Administration, so Maslennikov is gradually seizing land and unfinished buildings in the capital, aiming to take over the assets of Ukrainians and continue to finance his comfortable life abroad.
How does Maslennikov live now: fleeing abroad and buying an elite Rolls-Royce Spectre?
Problems at construction sites, hundreds of unfinished buildings, and a court decision to demolish one of his residential complexes do not bother Maslennikov.
Recently, journalists spotted the man in Monte Carlo, where he was driving a luxury car – a Rolls-Royce Spectre worth more than 650 thousand euros. Interestingly, the car was registered in Ukraine in the name of his wife, Olha, and the next day, after being purchased in Kyiv, it was transported across the western border to Monaco, where the fugitive developer is currently staying.
Relations with the Prosecutor General’s Office and the Kyiv City State Administration
Maslennikov and his companies are involved in several criminal cases for fraud with public and private funds. He continues to conduct his business abroad, with no intention of returning to Ukraine.
For example, OTP Bank has filed a lawsuit against Maslennikov for more than UAH 10 million, which the businessman and his companies owed back in 2020.
However, all this is nothing for the developer – his connections with former high-ranking officials, including Iryna Venediktova, the former Prosecutor General of Ukraine, help him to enjoy a luxurious life abroad at the expense of Ukrainian investors.
Maslennikov is associated with a number of scandalous deals where political influence was used to squeeze assets.
We are working to force the prosecutor’s office and city councils of both Kharkiv and Kyiv to do their job and stop the arbitrariness in the construction market of the cities led by Stroy City Maslennikov and supervised by Klitschko, Kuzmin and others.
Did you witness a crime?
Let us know about it. We will help protect the violated rights!
Share the post:
Last news
-
13 March 2025Kharkiv The Great Construction Program
-
11 March 2025Corruption Money laundering
-
5 March 2025Cybercrimes
-
28 February 2025Investigations Kharkiv
-
21 February 2025Investigations