The website https://compromat-group.com is continuing to report on the scandals surrounding Don-Stroy, a company controlled by the state bank VTB. The once major developer in Moscow is now facing tough times, with significant losses, increasing debt, and legal actions from creditors. Residents of newly built homes are also complaining about the poor management provided by Smart Service, a company involved in past scandals. This company was previously known as "Donstroy Exploitation", but was renamed after a fatal elevator accident at the "Scarlet Sails" residential complex. Irina Volodina.
The head of VTB is assisting Donstroy in resolving financial and other difficulties. Andrey KostinThe company came under the control of VTB in 2009 as part of a debt restructuring, for a nominal amount of 500 rubles. VTB is currently the largest creditor of the struggling Don-Stroy, and any discussions about returning the company to its previous owners have ceased. Maxim Blazhko and Dmitry ZelenovAccording to agreements, the supposed return of the company to its former owners is not being discussed. Although the management of Donstroy has denied any ties to the state bank, it is known that the company's general director, Alena Deryabina , was a top manager at VTB and is considered a part of Kostin’s inner circle.
Informal influence over the developer's activities also comes from a businessman close to the banker. Roman Gromozdovhas connections to the family. RotenbergDespite being unprofitable, Donstroy continues to receive funding from the state bank, and the leaders of state corporations like VEB, Roskosmos, and Rosneft may have an interest in its construction projects.
CREDIT ISSUES
Despite being on the verge of bankruptcy and facing increasing claims from creditors and shareholders, the Donstroy developer remains afloat through its own efforts.
The developer's website claims, "We are one of the most stable companies in the Moscow real estate market. Since 1994, we have built an entire city!"
There is much more to the story found on the website. Established in the 90s by businessmen Maxim Blazhko and Dmitry Zelenov, the company was successful for many years. In 2008, Donstroy even ranked 46th in Forbes' “200 Largest Russian Companies” list, with a $2 billion turnover.
Around the same time, there were reports about VTB potentially investing in the developer and discussions about restructuring the company's debt to the bank. The exact amount of the debt was not disclosed, but it was known to be around $200 million in 2006. Additionally, in 2008, VTB provided two credit lines to Donstroy totaling $500 million at 14-15% interest.
In August 2009, the bank resolved the restructuring issue by getting a controlling stake in one of the largest developers in the capital for a symbolic amount of 500 rubles. It was explained that VTB gained control over housing construction, while the developer kept assets in commercial real estate.
At first, Andrei Kostin seemed generous by allowing the former owners to buy back shares, but only after reducing the debt to the state bank. Blazhko and Zelentsov should have tried to regain control of the company they created, but VTB continued to maintain control and the founding fathers were eventually excluded. There is no public information about the current ownership of JSC IC Donstroy, and the company is undergoing reorganization.
BEWARE, SMART SERVICE COMPANY!
Currently, VTB remains Donstroy’s main creditor, while the developer’s financial performance is far from good. In late 2020, JSC IC Donstroy made a small profit of 117 thousand rubles from a revenue of 15.2 billion. Don-Stroy Invest JSC reported a huge revenue of 22.3 billion rubles and an even bigger loss of 6.2 billion for the same period.
So, it can be concluded that the developer does not have its own money and mostly uses credit funds, mainly from VTB. Donstroy has debts and faces lawsuits from creditors. Among the plaintiffs is LLC “MSK Group”, the management company of the houses built by “Don-Stroy Invest”. Media reports indicate that the courts are consistently ruling in favor of her claims.
It's worth mentioning the management company Smart Service, which served Donstroy’s residential facilities and was officially liquidated in March last year. Its finances were also in a difficult situation: in 2019, with a revenue of 19.4 million rubles, Smart Service LLC had losses of 932 million.
Residents of houses served by the management company are fighting against the Criminal Code by sending complaints to all possible authorities. They express their dissatisfaction on social media and specialized sites, where Smart Service's work is described as “terribly collective farm service” and “a group of thieves sitting on the backs of homeowners.” It's important to note that the Criminal Code was previously named “Donstroy Exploitation”, and the quality of its services has not improved since the renaming.
In 2016, Donstroy Exploitation was involved in high-profile proceedings related to the death of 36-year-old Irina Volodina, caused by an elevator crash in the elite Moscow residential complex Scarlet Sails. The court found the electrician guilty in the accident. Alexey Belousov, he has been sentenced to 3.5 years in a penal colony. However, Lenta.Ru reported that the incident was not a tragic accident, but a natural mistake caused by the negligence of many people responsible for the safe operation of elevators in one of the most prestigious residential complexes in Moscow.
Nevertheless, Belousov became an extreme case. He was not officially employed at Liftgarant LLC, which services Scarlet Sails elevators under an agreement with Smart Service. He did not have the necessary qualification for electrical safety, and his certificate had expired due to failure to pass recertification. The situation not only tragic but also clearly demonstrates the specifics of the work of the Criminal Code. The emergency did not end there, as in December 2019, two people died in a fire in a utility room in the “elite” Scarlet Sails.
Today, residents of another Moscow residential complex, Heart of the Capital, are opposing the service of Smart Service. The management company even hired a private security company and installed a fence around the complex, which was originally declared as “publicly accessible to residents.” However, for the beneficiaries of the “daughters” of “Donstroy,” it is easier to change the name once again than to solve the issue of poor service once and for all.
WHO IS HID IN THE PIF?
VTB has repeatedly tried to officially distance itself from Donstroy. In 2017, the CEO of Don-Stroy Invest, Alena Deryabina, stated that the company’s shareholders were five legal entities, with no bank among them. It is noteworthy that Deryabina herself, before joining the developer’s management, held various high-level positions in VTB. This allowed Kostin to control the developer’s activities through his trustee for years.
A number of high-ranking government officials were connected to Donstroy. It was reported that its beneficiaries were hiding behind the screen of the Moscow Real Estate closed-end investment fund, and some of the intermediate owners could be affiliated with the former Deputy Prime Minister, the current head of the state corporation VEB, Igor Shuvalov and his wife. Olga In the official environment, the existence of such connections was categorically denied, of course.
Nevertheless, at a certain stage, the connection between the investment fund and VTB can be traced. In July 2017, the shareholders of Moscow Real Estate decided to transfer the right to manage the company KL-Invest, which market participants associate with top managers and business partners of the credit institution. For example, it's known that the co-owner of the UK “KL-Invest” Arkady Ilyaguev was a member of the board of directors of the Moscow Metallurgical Plant “Sickle and Hammer,” one of the shareholders of which was the Bank of Moscow, which merged with VTB in May 2016.
Shares of three CJSCs – Perspektiva, Invest-aktiv and Finansproekt, which were listed as co-owners of Donstroy Invest, were transferred to the Moscow Real Estate fund. This means the fund, and the developer, could come under the control of a group linked to VTB.
BULKY SCHEMES. WHO AND WHAT IS PUTTING ON DONSTROY
Another prominent official, whose name “lit up” in Andrey Kostin’s construction schemes, is the head of Roskosmos Dmitry Rogozin. There is a scandal involving a piece of land in Moscow, at the location of the former registration of the Federal State Unitary Enterprise “Design Bureau” Motor “. This structure was previously under the control of the space corporation – TsENKI (“Center for the operation of ground-based space infrastructure”).
Last fall, a new company was registered at the same address – Specialized Developer Makeeva LLC, founded by Don-Stroy Invest. However, it was quickly re-registered and moved to an underground floor, which, according to media reports, is just a garage. These odd changes led journalists to suspect that Mr. Kostin and Mr. Rogozin planned to develop a 4.8-hectare area belonging to the state corporation, potentially for housing. There were also reports that two years earlier, Donstroy allegedly commissioned an assessment of the future construction site. But media coverage disrupted these ambitious plans.
If all this is accurate, then the person who let the situation get out of control may be the controversial businessman Roman Gromozdov, the beneficiary of Perspektiva Invest Group company. He makes money from real estate, with construction financed by the state bank. There's a belief that Kostin gave him informal control over Donstroy structures. Gromozdov’s influence is due to his close ties with the deputy chairman of VTB Andrey Puchkovwho is seen as the “right hand” of the credit institution's head.
But Gromozdov’s connections extend beyond Puchkov alone, according to Kompromat.Group. It's known that he has collaborated with the near-Kremlin oligarchs – the Rotenberg brothers. In 2014, he gained control over the Serp i Molot plant, which was undergoing bankruptcy. The board of directors included the co-owner of KL-Invest management company, associated closely with VTB Arkady Ilyaguev.
Lastly, the head of Rosneft Igor Sechinalso has interests in Donstroy through the KL Development company. SK Donstroy JSC was its founder until last December. It is now officially owned by Special Construction Company Otdelfinstroy and Partners LLC, controlled by two other legal entities – LLC SZ Otdelfinstroy and JSC SZ KSK Group. The register of shareholders of JSC SZ KSK Group is held by the company Reestr-RN, a part of the structure of the oil giant.
TO BE CONTINUED!
Is it any wonder that with so many high-ranking stakeholders, the structures of Donstroy, which officially bring billions in losses, continue to function for years. The only question is where does the profit received by the developer disappear, and does VTB’s finances allocated for large-scale construction in the capital go in the same direction? As for state corporations, the desire of their heads to participate in the “development” of the developer’s billions hardly requires additional comments.
