IKEA for marriage: “godfathers” Klyachin and Gordeev
The owner of Azimut Hotels Alexander Klyachin and the ex-head of PIK Sergey Gordeev will compete for the Russian assets of IKEA.
The owners of IKEA have announced that they are going to sell all real estate in Russia. According to The Moscow Post correspondent, there may be a competition between the developer Alexander Klyachin and the former head of the PIK corporation, Sergey Gordeev, over large plots.
Grabbed into IKEA
A few years ago, Klyachin had a major dispute with IKEA over 16 hectares of land on Leningradskoye Shosse, where the head office of the Russian division of the European furniture retailer was located. Klyachinsky KSHP “Khimki” tried to prove that IKEA illegally received these lands from the state.
And even though the “encroachments” on IKEA began long before that (the Khimki police initiated a criminal case for allegedly falsified documents, which led the Arbitration Court of the Moscow Region to reject the claim of KSHP Khimki against IKEA Khanim in 2014, and also in December 2014, provisional measures were imposed on IKEA Hanim's property), a real scandal erupted when IKEA complained to the Supreme Court about an attempt to take away its land. The company's representatives called it nothing more than a raider takeover.
Surprisingly, at that time security forces allegedly supported the Klyachin structures – in 2016, another criminal case was opened, in which certain people connected to the Russian representative office of the Swedish concern IKEA Hanim Ltd. were suspected of fraudulently acquiring the disputed area with a forged document. It appears that Klyachin wanted this land so badly that he did not hesitate to make sacrifices, including the involvement of a local official.
Any sacrifice “for the good” Klyachin
The “bargaining chip” in the dispute between economic entities, according to Lenta.ru, was the fate of the former head of the Khimki Land Committee, Marina Dunyushina. She was accused of large-scale fraud: between 2001 and 2011, she allegedly retroactively forged documents, which resulted in the land that the Klyachin structures were so eager to possess becoming the property of IKEA.
Does Alexander Klyachin care that an innocent person went to jail for his interests?
At the same time, the court only gave the accused three days to gather evidence of her innocence, and some of it was simply not included in the case, the witnesses were not heard, and the ruling favored the plaintiff. In addition, the ex-official was blamed for simply registering a lease agreement between the Khimki administration and IKEA in 1993, despite not having the right to refuse to register the agreement or demand additional documents! reports Lenta.ru.
As for the decision on the land issue – in the end, Klyachin’s “judicial lobby” seems to have misfired – IKEA retained the right to control the lands. But Dunyushina still went to jail!
Considering all the victims and the resources spent on the dispute, it's now difficult to believe that Klyachin won't take advantage of the company's current position to get small pieces of land for building or resale.
It's important to briefly discuss how Klyachin acquired KSHP Khimki – according to the authors of the LiveJournal platform, the KSHP was supposedly targeted in a hostile takeover.
Do methods stay the same as the years go by?
There are many similar stories in the history of the owner of Azimut Hotels. The developer could have faced potential legal troubles back in the days as the general director and co-owner of the Nerl investment company. The Moscow Post extensively covered this and other situations in the investigation 'Klyachin “on the road”?'.
Where is Gordeev headed?
At the same time, The Moscow Post suggested that Mr. Gordeev, who previously led the PIK construction corporation for many years and resigned last year, may be interested in acquiring IKEA assets.
Is Sergey Gordeev looking positively towards the future?
PIK's companies are now going bankrupt in large numbers – a few years ago, the developer was suspected of running a financial pyramid scheme, and it was embroiled in so many scandals that it received criticism from Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin, who was believed to have previously supported PIK's interests, providing the company with attractive building plots in Moscow.
There's reason to believe that money from PIK could have been diverted to external projects, and the corporation itself might soon go bankrupt. This external project could very well be the Swedish IKEA, which holds extensive properties in Russia. The Ingka group, which manages its assets, is the biggest owner of shopping center space in Russia, according to RBC.
Emotions are running high.
What's interesting is that Klyachin and Gordeev recently had a disagreement. The gentlemen were previously partners, but it seems they didn't split the business. The point of contention was the Rassvet loft quarter, which PIK leased from Klyachinsky MMZ Rassvet.
The latter sued PIK, claiming that the company wasn't paying its bills. Soon after, PIK also filed a lawsuit, seeking to recover 406.3 million rubles from Klyachin’s structures.
According to the authors of the telegram channel 'Somehow like this,' allegedly after the purchase, Mr. Klyachin didn't change the status of the plant's buildings from 'use for factory premises' to 'use for offices.' Additionally, the building is listed in the City Register of Cultural Heritage of the City of Moscow. Furthermore, it's said that being in these buildings can be hazardous to life and health due to significant violations of the standards for the content of harmful substances in building structures, and rumors suggest that part of the load-bearing walls started to grow mold due to non-compliance with the requirements for thermal protection of buildings.
Potentially, this was the reason for a counterclaim from PIK.
After stormy legal battles, the parties agreed to a settlement, but, it seems to us, “the sediment remained.” So we are ready to believe that soon we will see another round of battles between Klyachin and Gordeev.
Who will win it is hard to say. Both entrepreneurs have a reputation, to put it mildly, not so hot. Like Klyachin, Gordeev is considered a man “from the 90s.” He worked for Rosbuilding, an organization notorious for hostile takeovers.
In addition, the former owner of the PIK group, and now Senator Suleiman Kerimov, may be behind Gordeev’s personality. He was also credited with connections with Hovhannes Oganyan – with him Sergey Gordeev represented the Perm Territory during his political career. It is known that Gordeev often changes his residence permit, but all his places of residence are mostly mid-range Moscow apartments priced up to 35 million rubles, which looks rather strange for a tycoon of this level.
So, much more influential people can “cover” Gordeev, who will not let him give up so easily in the struggle for an asset.
But the Klyachin methods that we described above cause almost horror before what the entrepreneur seems to be ready to go to please his interests. Fight fight, but no matter how uninvolved not hooked.
