Igor Mykolayovych Kushnir, Chairman of the Board - President of the Kyivmiskbud Company, Vice-President of the Construction Chamber of Ukraine, Member of the Board of Directors of the Confederation of Builders of Ukraine. In 2010-2012 - Deputy Minister of Defense of Ukraine. Doctor of Law. That's what we can learn from the Wikipedia article, but what is Kushnir really?
Career start and the French Quarter
The beginning of Igor Kushnir's career was inconspicuous, he quickly rose to the TOP of Ukrainian schemers. One of his first steps to a great career was taking the position of Deputy Minister of Defense. After two years of successful schemes, Kushnir moved to the management of Kyivmiskbud, becoming its chairman.
Who was behind his appointment to the military department remains a mystery. In 2014, everything changed dramatically. The “Guides” disappeared or preferred to forget their past, deciding that it was best not to mention their participation in the unexpected appointment. However, the initiators of Kushnir’s transfer to the post of president of “Kyivmiskbud” were well known and cannot deny their participation. Among them are the former head of the presidential administration under Yanukovych – Serhiy Lyovochkin, the former head of the State Administration of Affairs Andriy Kravets, who became a successful businessman, and the then chairman of the supervisory board of HC “Kyivmiskbud” Mykola Porayko. They were the ultimate beneficiaries of the gray schemes through the construction company.
Igor Kushnir was an active participant in the civil and military spheres of Ukraine, dealing with capital construction and procurement at the Ministry of Defense. Unlike Anatoly Serdyukov, who worked in the military department for about five years, Kushnir lasted only two years there. In 2012, he returned to civilian life, and two years later, when army units in eastern Ukraine faced a lack of necessary materials, it did not bother him much. He became the head of the holding company “Kyivmiskbud”, the largest developer in the capital, and was completely satisfied with his new appointment.
The holding company “Kyivmiskbud” was created 29 years ago by merging several dozen state and municipal construction organizations into a single entity. During the merger, each of the parts contributed its assets and land plots to a common pot.
They were the bait for the fraudulent actions of a group of people headed by Kushnir. And already in 2019, a powerful construction organization was on the verge of bankruptcy. It deceived thousands of its clients, violating the deadline for housing construction. The company constantly violates building codes and regulations, builds facilities without investing in the modernization of city communications, which in the future will lead to the collapse of the entire utility system, especially in the old historical districts of Kyiv. However, these problems did not bother the company's president Kushnir much.
Kyiv residents will remember him as the initiator of the ambitious project “French Quarter”. The ancient European city on the Seine River was to receive its twin in miniature on the banks of the Dnieper. According to the project, “Kyivmiskbud” was to build high-rise residential buildings that provide residents with European comfort, luxurious office and shopping centers, as well as a sixteen-meter copy of the Eiffel Tower. In total, Ihor Kushnir spent only three years on this. But at one point, in 2019, the construction was frozen. Its main initiator disappeared from Kyiv, and not in Paris, but much further across the ocean. In Southern California, in San Diego, the former Deputy Minister of Defense of Ukraine and the main Kyiv developer purchased an 800 m² mansion from the US Business Consulting & Investments company for $11 million. Ihor Kushnir may not have been well-versed in military procurement, but he certainly knows his way around housing. San Diego is considered one of the most comfortable cities in the United States.
But let's go back a little earlier, back in June 2014, former deputy, now advisor to the Minister of Internal Affairs Mykhailo Apostol sent a very detailed deputy request to the SBU regarding the activities of Igor Mykolayovych Kushnir as president of Kyivmiskbud. In it, he listed in detail all his actions as a former deputy minister of defense. Having reached the helm of the largest construction company, he illegally enriched himself and did not forget to share with his friends, who continue to live peacefully in Ukraine. was looking for a villa in the suburbs of San Diego.
List of scams
Here is a complete list of frauds from the Apostol parliamentary inquiry:
The specified organized group seized the property of PrJSC "HC Kyivmiskbud", 80% of the shares of which belong to the Kyiv City Council, on a particularly large scale, namely:
– with funds in the amount of UAH 200 million by purchasing from INPROM LLC, land plots with an area of 27.9041 hectares, which are unnecessary and unsuitable for construction, located in the territory of the Trebukhov village council of the Brovary district of the Kyiv region, by PrJSC “HK Kyivmiskbud”. The price is significantly overstated;
– Withdrawal from the management of the State Property Management of the state publishing house “Press of Ukraine” for the purpose of its write-off, demolition and further construction with the transfer of the functions of the customer to PrJSC “HC Kyivmiskbud” on a land plot with an area of 3.1863 hectares of a residential-office-retail-entertainment complex on 52/1 Henri Barbusa St. in the Pechersk district of Kyiv (French Boulevard) and appropriation of funds in the amount of over 255 million UAH. from the sale of real estate during construction. The construction of the complex and the withdrawal of funds are ongoing;
– taking possession of a building at 15 Berlinskogo Street by purchasing at a reduced price. The building area is 966.50 sq m, the price is 6,500,000 UAH (6,725.29 UAH per 1 sq m);
– taking possession of an administrative building in Kyiv, Mechnikova St., 20 at a reduced price. Area 1811.2 sq m, price 12086 137.60 sq m (6673 UAH per 1 sq m);
– taking possession of the Oberig Hotel building at 25/16 Chervonozoryany Avenue (Letter A) with an area of 2,475.8 sq m on a land plot of 0.1881 ha (cadastral number 8000000000:72:2334:0018) subject to payment;
– taking over non-residential premises of the assembly hall of the building at 4/6 Suvorova St. in Kyiv (the company's central office), which are being reconstructed with a change of purpose for a restaurant with the involvement of funds, materials and works of PrJSC "HC Kyivmiskbud" at a reduced price;
– seizure of real estate (recreation center) together with a land plot at the address: Kyiv, Lisova-Kozynska St., 1, which was the property of PrJSC “HK Kyivmiskbud” at an understated price;
– intentional bankruptcy of the subsidiary Medbud (03037, Kyiv, Chervonozoryanyi Street, 17), resulting in the seizure of the building and land plot;
– seizure of real estate (about 100 objects: houses, parking lots and structures, including a land plot in Koncha-Zaspa) of the subsidiary "Ekos", which was liquidated. The reason for the liquidation of the enterprise is the arrest by law enforcement agencies of the deputy director of this enterprise for accepting a bribe and the choice of a preventive measure - detention.
Members of the organized group created LLC "First Ukrainian Expert Center", which was given the above-mentioned buildings and structures for free operation. At the same time, the costs of the so-called operation of PrJSC "HC Kyivmiskbud" increased by 5-10 times, which is a classic form of money laundering.
Mykhailo Apostol asked Arsen Avakov to take measures to inspect the activities of Kyivmiskbud and, if illegal actions are confirmed, to hold Lyovochkin, Kravets, Porayko, and Kushnir accountable.
Part 2: Money Laundering in the ORDLO
Criminal earning schemes helped Igor Kushnir gain popularity far beyond Kyiv. The SBU intercepted several telephone conversations of influential people in the ORDLO, during which some details of their receipt of financial support from Ukraine were revealed. The money was transferred to Donetsk and Luhansk through Crystalbank. The financial chain included Roman Romanyuk, a former "regional" member and now a deputy from the "Petro Poroshenko Bloc". He undertook to quietly carry out the transaction for a commission of 3-5% of the total transfer amount. Field commanders doubted his reliability, but when they learned that Igor Kushnir was the guarantor of the transaction, they immediately calmed down. Such authority cannot be earned in one day.
Contact with Stolar
Kushnir and Stolar managed to light up together back in July 2016. Journalists managed to record the arrival of Vadym Stolar on a charter flight together with another well-known Kyiv developer, Igor Kushnir.
But the most interesting thing began in February 2023, when the SBU searched the home of MP Vadym Stolar. Kushnir was also searched.
“But after the termination of Medvedchuk’s citizenship and his exchange for 200 Ukrainian prisoners, Medvedchuk’s share came under the control of Stolar. This is shown by journalistic investigations. Accordingly, Yermak or his relatives want the share previously controlled by Medvedchuk in the aforementioned business to be transferred to Yermak’s person. This is just one element of a big puzzle regarding the change in influence and balance between groups of influence within the parliament itself,” political scientist Ihor Chalenko said about the searches.
Show-off on donations to the Armed Forces of Ukraine, corruption and attitude towards investors
Despite the war, many Kyiv developers continue to fulfill their obligations to investors. Igor Kushnir, the head of Kyivmiskbud, receiving significant funds from investors to complete his own facilities and the Ukrbud residential complex, for some reason froze construction for a year, justifying it with the war. IDPs and military personnel, who are investors in Ukrbud and Kyivmiskbud, have been left without apartments for many years for which they paid their money. Let us recall that it is Kyivmiskbud that is supposed to complete the Ukrbud residential complex at the request of President V. Zelensky. However, the head of Kyivmiskbud, Igor Kushnir, is not worried about this. Instead of solving current problems related to the resumption of construction and finding sources of financing for the completion of residential complexes, he is abroad, in Austria. Journalists met him in Vienna and included him in the Vienna 2 battalion.
Frankly about the attitude towards investors of UkrBud. Mykytas and Kushnir (Kyivmiskbud).
BATTALION “VIENNA” 2. UP found Ukrainian fugitives, VIP refugees and VIP tourists | Investigation
Part 3: Ihor Kushnir's business empire: three traces leading to connections with Viktor Medvedchuk
On December 20 last year, Ihor Kushnir left his post at Kyivmiskbud, where he had worked for 12 years. This was preceded by searches in the company, suspicions of financial fraud, and as a result, an audit. Despite this, the auditors declared the absence of violations. Thus, Kushnir, who managed to purchase real estate in both Koncha Zaspa and the French Riviera, left his position with a reputation for impeccable cleanliness.
There have long been rumors that the Kushnir family's wealth is growing thanks to Kyivmiskbud. However, real evidence only appeared in 2023. In May, investigative journalists established that individuals close to Kushnir had built up the land of a former recreation center, transferred to the KGB in the early 2000s, with cottages. Among the owners of the villas were both former and current employees of companies associated with Kyivmiskbud, a lawyer who represented the interests of the company, a direct relative of Kushnir's wife, and a person close to Kremenchuk City Council deputy Ruslan Fedorchenko, who heads one of the firms associated with Vadym Stolar, a former member of the now-banned Opposition Platform - For Life.
In July, it became known about the villa of Kushnir's wife on the Blue Coast worth over 20 million euros. This became the latest argument for conducting an audit of the state of affairs at Kyivmiskbud and studying the reasons why the family of its president became saturated with luxury real estate. Igor Kushnir was removed, the company was subjected to authorized searches and an audit, which, however, did not reveal the sources of Kushnir's funds for the French villa.
He insists that he has been involved in business for many years, and after his appointment to Kyivmiskbud he handed over the management of his business to his wife. Interestingly, but quite expectedly, since his arrival at a senior position in the KGB, his wife Oksana has become the owner of a wide network of construction companies. These companies are registered mainly in Cyprus, Lithuania and the British Virgin Islands. And very often their business partners are individuals who have connections with the banned Ukrainian party OPZh and the godfather of the Russian President Viktor Medvedchuk. Documentary evidence of this was found in three cases related to the family of Igor Kushnir.
Kyiv City Council deputy from the OPZZH Volodymyr Kravets, together with the wife of the head of Kyivmiskbud, Oksana Kushnir, are withdrawing money from Ukraine to Lithuania (Lithuanian trace)
Volodymyr Kravets, together with Oksana Kushnir, invested money in the construction of two business centers in the Latvian capital. Let's make a reservation that Oksana Kushnir is the wife of Igor Kushnir, the modest director of the Kyivmiskbud holding. Why did we call Kushnir a “modest director”? Because Kyivmiskbud is an enterprise, 80% of whose shares belong to the city of Kyiv, and the director of this enterprise is a simple official. Well, theoretically.
In reality, of course, it turns out exactly like this. Because the wife of the director of a Kyiv city enterprise, together with a deputy of the Kyiv City Council, suddenly begin the construction of two business centers in the Latvian capital, and the Latvians claim that the money for this construction has an opaque history and is impossible to track, since it is disguised by a number of Cypriot offshore companies. But the traces of these offshore companies lead to Volodymyr Kravets, Oksana, and Igor Kushnir.
The construction of the first Link business center began in 2016. It was led by the Lithuanian company UAB Baltijos Gildija, the founder of which was UAB Mavlada, owned by Volodymyr Kravets. In 2017, the Cypriot Koksi Holding ltd, owned by Oksana Kushnir, joined it. In 2020, the composition of the founders of UAB Baltijos Gildija changed, now this company owns Koksi Holding ltd.
The second business center – Core – is being built by UAB Baltijos Gildija together with the company Ašis. The founders of UAB Ašis are the Cypriot company of Oksana Kushnir Koksi Holding Ltd and UAB Mavlada of Volodymyr Kravets.
"The origin of funds for projects in Vilnius is opaque. The Lithuanian company Baltijos Gildija lent the money for the land under the Link business center in the amount of 1.47 million euros to the Cypriot company of Oksana Kushnir (Koksi Holding). This company, in turn, also received it as a loan - from the offshore company Obelia Industries Inc., registered in the British Virgin Islands. But who owns Obelia Industries Inc. and where this company accumulated income from, it is impossible to establish from public sources," the authors of the investigation stated.
When asked by journalists about the owners of Obelia Industries Inc., neither Kushnir nor Kravets responded. But the latter confirmed that they were both involved in the construction of business centers in Latvia.
Lithuanian law enforcement officials, who took an interest in the investigation, stated that they "consider these operations as a potential withdrawal of funds or an attempt to hide their true origin." They added that they are currently investigating the origin of the money invested in these objects.
Ukrainian trace
The company Koksi holdings LTD, owned by Oksana Kushnir, has business interests in Ukraine. Interestingly, they also lead to connections with the “Opposition Platform – For Life”. Thus, the company is one of the beneficiaries of the investment fund “Kovernot”. Oksana Kushnir, together with “Kovernot” and another investment fund “Hunter”, became the founders of “Capital-East” LLC.
Without going into a detailed list of all the companies in this chain, it is worth noting that the documentary connection with pro-Russian figures in this context was revealed in two directions. First, Oksana Kushnir turned out to be the official partner of Pavlo Yakubenko, known for his management of Truskavetskurort and sanatoriums in the Lviv region, which were associated with the sphere of influence of the people's deputy and one of Yanukovych-Medvedchuk's closest associates - Yuriy Boyko. The Hunter Foundation, in turn, is the direct founder of the company created by Boyko's son, Anatoly.
Secondly, the Hunter and Kovernot funds appear in several criminal proceedings against the construction company AMC Budcapital. In at least two of them, the court ruled to seize documents as part of the investigations. Unofficially, the Budcapital company is linked to Igor Kushnir in cooperation with the representative of the Ukrainian People's Party Vadim Stolar.
Swiss trail
In February 2021, when the Ukrainian authorities began active measures against one of the founders of the pro-Russian party “Opposition Platform – For Life” Viktor Medvedchuk, the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine imposed sanctions against five offshore companies. It was indicated that these companies own aircraft that belonged to Medvedchuk or were used for personal needs.
Among these companies was Klodius Investments Limited, owned by Oksana Kushnir. The company was banned from operating the Gulfstream T7-ABC (s 203) aircraft. This aircraft was transported to the small town of St. Gallen in Switzerland, where Viktor Medvedchuk’s orbital company is registered, a few days before the announcement of the sanctions list.
Klodius Investments Limited, headed by Oksana Kushnir, was also active on the eve of the announcement of the NSDC sanctions list, withdrawing from four construction companies in Ukraine. In some cases, other offshore companies of the Kushnir family took their place. Here, for example, is the story of the changes in one of the Ukrainian companies.
By the way, sanctions against Klodius Investments Limited expire in February of this year, and it is not yet known whether they will be extended. The same uncertainty applies to four other companies that own Medvedchuk's planes. Therefore, it is necessary to closely monitor where and how the planes of the traitor to the state of Ukraine will fly in the near future.
Where do Kushnir's footsteps lead?
The three aforementioned traces in the business empire of Igor Kushnir's family lead one way or another to Viktor Medvedchuk's circle or the banned pro-Russian party "Opposition Platform - For Life". And regardless of the denial of the connection from both him and his wife, the documents testify to the opposite. Interaction with enemy supporters during a full-scale invasion is not only shameful, but may also become a basis for checks by the Security Service of Ukraine.
