NABU is studying Ihor Kushnir’s firms that receive contracts from Kyivmiskbud

As reported, on May 17, the head of «Kyivmiskbud», Ihor Kushnir, was found on Mount Everest, which he climbed along with his wife.

The sports publication Mt Everest Today, in its news about a group of climbers reaching the world’s peak, wrote among other things: «the Ukrainian couple – billionaire Ihor Kushnir and his wife Oksana Kushnir have also conquered Everest».

In Ukraine, this news has raised many questions, among which the main one is not even who allowed Kushnir to leave the country, but whether the billionaire couple will return to their homeland. This is because Ihor Kushnir’s hasty departure abroad with his wife was preceded by a request from the NABU to the Kyiv City Council, in which detectives asked to clarify a number of questions regarding the «Kyivmiskbud» company headed by him:

The formal reason for the NABU’s interest in Ihor Kushnir’s activities was «Kyivmiskbud»’s refusal to complete the construction of ten «Ukrbud» houses, which it had taken onto its balance.

However, the actual reasons are much deeper, and most likely the NABU’s request is triggered by the under-the-table struggle for the construction market of Kyiv, which with varying success has been ongoing for four years since the owners changed on Bankova Street. Nevertheless, the chair under long-term head of «Kyivmiskbud», Ihor Kushnir, has been shaken.

At stake, besides the position, is a huge chunk of Kyiv’s construction market, which Ihor Kushnir has been successfully mastering through affiliated companies registered under nominees or his relatives. Among the latter are the firms of his wife Oksana Kushnir, which she owns through offshore layers.

The judicial registers have shown the company "Monolit Bud", which was suspected of tax evasion.

«Monolit Bud», like «Panel Bud Consulting» Ltd until 2019 belonged to the Cypriot offshore Koksi Holding Ltd. In 2019, these firms were re-registered to another offshore – Klodius Investments Limited from the British Virgin Islands.

All these offshore companies belong to Oksana Kushnir, a citizen of Cyprus. In February 2021, the owner of «Monolit Bud» and «Panel Bud Consulting» Ltd changed again. This time they were re-registered to the Cypriot "Arialti AIF V.C.I. Ltd", which is again owned by Oksana Kushnir. Instead, the property of this offshore has become «Bud-proekt Group» Ltd and «Investconsulting-K» Ltd.

By a strange coincidence, the latest change of ownership of all these companies belonging to Oksana Kushnir happened just before President Zelenskyy signed the decree «On the decision of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine dated February 19, 2021», in which among others the company Klodius Investments Limited was sanctioned.

This simple method allowed all four firms of Oksana Kushnir, which are fed by «Kyivmiskbud» contracts, whose director is by coincidence again her husband, to be removed from the NSDC sanctions.

Besides his wife, Ihor Kushnir has a joint business with the former Opposition Bloc MP Vadym Stolar, who for many years held the unofficial status of «watcher» of the capital’s construction market. For example, one of Stolar’s and Kushnir’s firms, «Asset Management Company "Bud Capital"» Ltd, which serves as the financial unit of «Bud Capital» Ltd, figures in criminal proceedings №42019110000000371, instituted by the Security Service of Ukraine:

The essence of the criminal case, being investigated, boils down to «Bud Capital» collecting money from citizens who wish to invest in the construction of residential complexes, such as «French Quarter 2», which «Kyivmiskbud» is building.

There is a clear tax evasion (estimated by investigators at 360 million hryvnias), but besides that, investors risk being left with nothing as they sign an investment agreement for construction not with the contractor, but with an intermediary, which bears no contractual responsibility.

Interestingly, the director of «AMC «Bud Capital»», Volodymyr Kryvoruchko, is a co-owner of «Lisorgbud» Ltd, to which 2 hectares of land from the «Kyivmiskbud» recreation center in Kozyn were transferred. This area now hosts a cozy village of seven cottages belonging to relatives and business partners of Ihor Kushnir and his wife Oksana.

In addition to all this, according to «Economic Pravda», the president of «Kyivmiskbud», Ihor Kushnir, not only runs a communal holding but also owns three other development companies. Therefore, it is not surprising that several dozen firms feed off the communal «Kyivmiskbud», which receive the most lucrative contracts from it, while it itself remains in a deep financial abyss.

According to «Ukrainian Pravda», Stolar and Kushnir also own the companies bUd Development, BudCapital, and IB Alliance. However, Stolar’s partnership with Kushnir is not limited to this – the housing under bUd development management is built by Vadym Stolar, the president of «Kyivmiskbud» Ihor Kushnir, and the co-owner of Stolitsa Group Vladyslav Molchanov, who is also a very controversial figure.

However, in our case, we are talking about the head of the communal enterprise «Kyivmiskbud», Ihor Kushnir, who officially possessing almost no property, manages to maintain a lifestyle far exceeding his income. As was reflected by the Mt Everest Today publication, calling him a billionaire:

What exactly has sparked the NABU’s interest in the person of the president of «Kyivmiskbud», Ihor Kushnir – his clearly corrupt activities, or if this is just another redistribution of the capital’s construction pie – is unknown. But this interest appears to be very serious, prompting Kushnir to urgently leave the country.

How this will all end is difficult to predict, as Ihor Kushnir started his work at «Kyivmiskbud» during Yanukovych’s time, having moved to this chair from the position of Deputy Minister of Defence of Ukraine. He has successfully weathered Yanukovych, Poroshenko, and four years of Zelenskyy’s rule in this role. Along with several redistributions of the capital’s construction market during these four years. Therefore, it is premature to «bury» Ihor Kushnir just yet. But clearly, he is facing serious problems.