Rybalskyi RC developer Andriy Vavrysh: seizure of property and enforcement proceedings worth millions

Rybalskyi RC developer Andriy Vavrysh: seizure of property and enforcement proceedings worth millions

The construction of Rybalsky, which is being carried out by Andriy Vavrysh’s Saga Development company, is being overgrown with new details. And these details are very unpleasant for investors who have bought apartments in the future residential complex.

On the surface is the scandal with Olha Freimut, who invested money in the SAGA City Space residential complex, but the developer stopped construction, leaving the TV presenter without an apartment. She was in court for a long time, won the case, but cannot recover the money invested in the SAGA City Space residential complex, since there are no funds in the developer’s accounts.

Olha Freimut is not alone - recently, deceived investors of another residential complex (Rybalskyi) even held a rally, demanding a meeting with the developer’s representatives near the house where they bought apartments back in 2018. More precisely, near what was supposed to be a house, but did not become one. The result was zero.

Another public scandal is the accusation from another victim, Nelly Verner, who said a year ago that Andriy Vavrysh had cheated investors by stopping work on the Rybalskyi residential complex and, in addition, was issuing them fines and penalties for allegedly overdue payments. Vavrysh himself, of course, claims the opposite and even tried to sue Mrs. Verner for “false information that discredits honor and dignity.” However, for some reason, the court did not see any signs of untruthfulness in Nelly Verner’s statement and rejected Andriy Vavrysh’s claim.

You can read more about all this here: Fraudster Andriy Vavrysh after hearing hundreds of people: Saga Development on the borders of bankruptcy, the everyday life of residential complex "Rybalskyi"

But all this is just the tip of the iceberg. Because the study of court registers suddenly revealed a horrifying picture. Horrifying for investors, of course. Who, let us recall, bought apartments in advance, having contributed money to the Rybalskyi residential complex at the design and foundation pit stage. And now he faces the real prospect of losing the money he contributed. The fact is that the construction is indeed being carried out by SAGA Development. More precisely, it is no longer being carried out, but simply collecting money from those investors who still believe in the promises of Andriy Vavrysh. But the customer of the construction of the Rybalsky residential complex is Riverside Development LTD. In fact, SAGA Development is the same Riverside Development, which changed its name in 2018.

The reasons for the renaming were not explained, no one paid attention to the fact of the name change, and in vain. The fact is that at that time, Riverside Development LTD LLC was already drowning in lawsuits from the Kyiv City State Administration, the prosecutor’s office and the Kyiv River Port. The reason for these lawsuits was the allocation of land on which the Rybalskyi residential complex is being built.

We are talking about land plots with cadastral numbers 800000000:85:316:0069 (area 12.2332 ha), 8000000000:85:316:0040 (area 0.4871 ha) and 8000000000:85:316:0072 (area 0.2142 ha) along Naberezhno-Khreshchatytska Street. This is where the currently frozen stages of the Rybalskyi residential complex are being built.

There was also a criminal case on this matter (No. 62020100000000655), in which the defendants were the developers - OOO Riverside Development LTD and OOO Perfect Group, which the court prohibited from carrying out any work on the said sites. Later, however, Andriy Vavrysh managed to overturn this decision in the Poltava court, but the criminal case itself was by no means closed. It was simply put on the back burner for the time being. And to revive it in the conditions of the Ukrainian law enforcement system, as everyone understands, is not easy, but very, very easy.

Therefore, the renaming of Riverside Development LTD LLC to Saga Development LLC had good reasons – to shed the negative background and distance themselves from the scandal that was regularly covered in the media. But the essence of the dispute did not change – the name change did not affect the consideration of the claim. Saga Development is winning the dispute so far. For now – because the legal epic is not over yet – the next court hearing is scheduled for September 19, 2024. And how the cards will fall this time is unknown. But, judging by the fact that the construction has been at a standstill for several years now, and the deadlines for the delivery of the facilities are being postponed indefinitely, Andriy Vavrysh does not really believe in his legal prospects.

Of course, it is impossible to know in advance what the court’s decision will be regarding the land under the Rybalskyi residential complex. But the fact that Andriy Vavrysh does not hope to win it is confirmed by indirect factors. We have already mentioned that construction has been frozen. As well as the fact that Olha Freimut, who won the case, cannot collect money from Saga Development LLC due to the lack of such funds in the developer’s accounts. But if, as Andriy Vavrysh claims, all rumors about the future deception of investors are "slander and defamation", then the money should be there. And the return of the contribution of one investor out of thousands should not affect the financial situation of the developer in any way. But there is no money.

And there is another reason for this. The reason is old – the story goes back at least to 2012. The case is complicated, but, to put it simply, we are talking about Mr. Vavrysh’s long-standing debt to PAO Swedbank in the amount of $2,737,304.15, which he took out as a loan from the bank back in 2008.

Andriy Vavrysh did not comply with the court decision on debt collection, which was made by the Boryspil City and District Court of the Kyiv Region back in February 2013, as a result of which Swedbank assigned the right to claim the debt to a collection agency, which, in turn, resold the debt to other collectors. But that is not important. What is important is that, as a result, enforcement proceedings were initiated, in which the state enforcement officer seized both Mr. Vavrysh’s car and his corporate rights in Saga Development LLC.

Andriy Vavrysh is actively contesting this decision, but as of the end of August the case is in the appellate instance, and they are trying to collect another 4,989,099 hryvnia 18 kopecks from Mr. Vavrysh under five enforcement proceedings, his property and accounts have been seized. And this is only the amount of the enforcement fee, not counting the debt itself.

The result of all this, as already mentioned above, is the seizure of property, corporate rights and accounts. Andriy Vavrysh, naturally, is trying to challenge all this. But, judging by the length of the consideration of cases, it is not possible to challenge - it only works out to drag out time. The collection of the debt to Swedbank has been going on for almost 12 years. But, apparently, it is finally approaching its logical conclusion.

What does this mean for investors in the Rybalskyi residential complex, whose developer is Andriy Vavrysh’s Saga Development? Construction will be frozen. Which has already happened at least last year. Next up is an auction and the sale of Saga Development LLC’s property at auction. This is not a quick process, and it is unknown whether they will buy an investment construction project with an empty cash register, huge debts to investors and unfinished projects. It is very doubtful. In addition, we should not forget about the attempts by the Kyiv City State Administration and the prosecutor’s office to challenge the allocation of land for the Rybalskyi residential complex.