While Ukraine is at war, Kyiv is quietly implementing a scheme to seize municipal land linked to the odious Russian businessman Vagif Aliyev. Under the pretext of building the Pozniaky Mall shopping and entertainment center in Pozniaky, another attack on city property is underway — this time under the cover of a shopping mall.
Construction is planned on three hectares in the Darnytskyi district, where the formal tenant is Energoplast LLC. This company was registered until March 2023 in the name of Vagif Aliyev himself, a former Russian consul and now one of the most famous developers operating in Ukraine despite the war.
After the full-scale invasion began, Aliyev tried to cover up the traces of the Russian origin of the business. The assets were re-registered to his daughter, Marina Dorokhin, and Energoplast was re-registered to front persons. However, real control, according to sources in the real estate market, remained in the hands of the businessman himself. It is he who is currently negotiating the extension of the lease of the site, including with representatives of the Kyiv city government.
The land is not intended for commercial development. However, despite this, the company submitted documents to the Kyiv City State Administration with the intention of building a new shopping mall on the site.
Neither the local authorities nor law enforcement agencies are responding to the obvious violations. Aliyev has long-standing ties with officials, including the city's mayor, Vitali Klitschko, with whom, according to sources, he continues to maintain contact.
Recall that Aliyev was involved in numerous tax and land scandals, but this did not prevent him from maintaining control over projects in the capital, including Lavina Mall, Blockbuster, and Ocean Plaza.
Despite public demand to cleanse the Ukrainian economy of Russian influence, even after two years of war, a new project with a Kremlin imprint is officially starting in the center of Kyiv. And this is a worrying signal.
