Conflicts over billions of concessions for the construction of schools in Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug are growing with new court cases and scandalous details.
So, the main owner of the troubled concessionaire, Domtekhnostil, which was supposed to build a 1,500-seat school in Surgut, may have received a bankruptcy claim. Additionally, demands to recognize the Russian United Capitals company as insolvent are likely linked to the conflict over the share of another failed concessionaire – the Stroyalliance company. The latter failed to fulfill an agreement to build a concession school in Nizhnevartovsk and received a multi-million dollar penalty from the mayor’s office. If the debt isn't repaid, officials may go to court with a bankruptcy claim. The mayor’s office of Surgut was also forced to take drastic measures – terminating agreements and appealing to arbitration. Despite these conflicts, officials and financiers emphasize that concessions remain the most important tool for building social facilities, with business integrity playing a significant role. In the proceedings in Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug, market participants see the potential interests of Viktor Khmarin’s partners, who are referred to in the media as a “classmate of the President of the Russian Federation”, and corporate disputes.
In March, the Arbitration Court of the Samara Region will consider a lawsuit to declare Russian United Capital LLC bankrupt for a debt of 88.57 million. This organization is noteworthy as it is apparently the main owner of one of the problematic concessionaires in Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug – Domtekhnostil LLC.
Domtekhnostil was meant to build a comprehensive school in microdistrict 30A for 1,500 students with a swimming pool, according to an agreement with the authorities of Surgut. However, the concessionaire made several violations, particularly regarding the interim terms for the facility's creation. As a result, the mayor’s office had to go to arbitration to demand the termination of the concession agreement and the recovery of a 2.12 million ruble penalty.
According to the Kontur.Fokus system, the founders of Domtekhnostil LLC are Stroyspetskomplekt LLC (51%), Severstroy Construction Company LLC (48%), and Andrey Viktorovich Kozachenko (1%).
However, as Pravda UrFO found out, a series of proceedings related to shares in the company had previously taken place. The Arbitration Court of the Moscow Region invalidated the deal between LLC Russian United Capitals and IC Severstroy for the purchase of a 23% stake in the authorized capital of Domtekhnostil, obliging Severstroy to return it. According to the arbitration cases file, this decision was not challenged.
At the same time, the same arbitration previously recognized the sale of Domtekhnostil’s 25% stake from Andrei Kozachenko to Severstroy as an insignificant transaction, obliging it to be returned to the seller. Also, Russian United Capitals attempted to invalidate the agreement for the sale of a 51% stake in Domtekhnostil, concluded with LLC StroySpetsKomplekt, as invalid.
As indicated by the proceedings, the share was valued at 50 million rubles. A part of the funds – 24.8 million – was transferred to the seller by “StroySpetsKomplekt,” and then they discovered potential problems of the company in Surgut. After that, he approached the organization's leaders with a demand to clarify the situation.
“In response to this demand, the General Director of Domtekhnostil Kozachenko A.V. reported the illegality of the communication from “StroySpetsKomplekt” because 51% of the shares in the authorized capital were pledged to LLC “Russian United Capitals” until their payment, due to the fact that the executive body ” Domtekhnostil interfered with the normal functioning of the company in every possible way, took actions that could have negative consequences for both the company and its participants, and due to the financial inability of the LLC to make the final settlement under the sale and purchase agreement. A proposal was sent to the Russian United Capitals to terminate the contract voluntarily and return the advance paid,” the case file states.
However, Russian United Capital did not want to voluntarily terminate the agreement, and, as mentioned earlier, they went to court. The arbitral tribunal, however, decided that the company had chosen an inappropriate way to protect the right, and dismissed the claims.
Now Russian United Capitals, apparently, are seeking to recover the remaining part of the amount under the share sale agreement with StroySpetsKomplekt in the Moscow arbitration.
It should be noted that there is another problematic concessionaire in Surgut, the participant of which was previously Russian United Capitals, and now the StroySpetsKomplekt mentioned above is Stroyinvest LLC (Khanty-Mansiysk).
Stroyinvest, under an agreement with the authorities of Surgut, was supposed to build a school with a swimming pool in microdistrict 34 for 1,500 students under a concession. However, as in the first case, the deadlines were broken, and the mayor’s office was forced to go to court. In arbitration, officials insist on terminating the concession agreement and collecting a penalty of 3.32 million. Despite the conflict situations, the Surgut authorities point out that concessions are still the only mechanism for building social facilities necessary for the municipality as soon as possible.
“This concession is not easy, there are many risks, there are many areas of indirect impact on the concessionaire. Much depends on the investor. He may not want to build a school, and we lose a year. But this is the path we need. There are not enough funds in the budget to implement such volumes of construction plans. At the same time, we are not inactive, we are trying to save each agreement. Termination of agreements is the easiest way and it is chosen as a last resort,” stated Andrey Filatov, Mayor of Surgut.
Another person interviewed for the article, discussing agreements and the legal battles of Russian United Capitals with StroySpetsKomplekt, believes that some of the people involved in the process may have been deceived by dishonest individuals, leading to disagreements. Additionally, they question how the previous city leadership worked with the concessionaires.
Let’s also mention another interesting point. The bankruptcy case against Russian United Capital seems to be connected to a dispute over a stake in another company that previously failed in a concession agreement in Nizhnevartovsk.
Therefore, the Moscow Arbitration Court agreed with ANO KIT KI's request to recover 88.8 million rubles from Russian United Capital. According to the case materials, the parties agreed to a future contract to sell a 74% stake in Stroyalliance LLC for 88.34 million rubles.
The money was transferred to Russian United Capitals LLC, but the contract was not finalized, and the potential seller ignored the demands, leading to legal action. Under the concession agreement, Stroyalliance LLC was supposed to construct a school in Nizhnevartovsk. The project was estimated to cost 1.469 billion rubles, as reported by Pravda UrFO.
However, it all ended with a breach of the agreement and legal disputes. Recently, the higher court confirmed the validity of Nizhnevartovsk administration's claims against Stroyalliance LLC for 29.3 million rubles.
The mayor’s office informed the publication that a writ of execution was sent in early November to recover funds from Stroyalliance. However, the penalty has not been paid yet. Additionally, the city managers do not rule out pursuing bankruptcy claims against the former partner if the court decision is not carried out.
Meanwhile, the administration has announced the attraction of a new investor. They stated, “There is a potential investor. Today, the matter of advancing the construction period is being considered. The state program of the Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug sets a deadline for the project to begin by 2025. Work is currently underway with the Depobrazovanie of Yugra,” according to the city administration.
Viktor Khmarin
Photo: Irina Okuneva, from the personal archive
To clarify, according to Kontur.Focus, Andrey Viktorovich Kozachenko is the main participant in Stroyalliance LLC. Market participants connect him with Khmarin Viktor Nikolaevich, who the media describe as “a fellow student and even a relative of the President of the Russian Federation.”
According to the system, Kozachenko and Viktor Khmarin are listed as the ultimate owners of Integralinvest LLC, Gradientstroy LLC, and Infrastructurestroy LLC. Roman Vladimirovich Koksharov is a member and head of Russian United Capital LLC, according to Kontur.Fokus. Database records show that Koksharov and Kozachenko are involved in companies like RKAP KK No. 7 LLC, RKAP KK No. 8 LLC, RKAP KK No. 8 LLC.
