The National Agency for the Tracing and Management of Illegally Obtained Assets (ARMA) announced the completion of the competitive procedure to find a manager for the arrested Gulliver shopping and office center in the Prozorro system.
The Gulliver shopping mall was transferred to the management of ARMA back in 2017 as part of criminal proceedings related to the misappropriation of state-owned bank funds by former President Viktor Yanukovych and his entourage. The agency's main task was to ensure the preservation and proper management of the seized property until its legal status was finally determined.
Now, courts have ruled that the ownership of the shopping center belongs to state-owned creditor banks, not to individuals associated with Yanukovych. In this regard, ARMA has terminated the competition to find a new manager, effectively returning the asset to the state.
According to the portal biz.nv.ua, Gulliver is one of the largest retail and office complexes in the capital and has long been the subject of legal disputes over ownership. The origins of the case date back to 2018, when the complex was arrested and transferred to the management of ARMA. In the same year, the company "Three O" LLC began managing the shopping center and transferred UAH 8.2 million to the state budget from 2018 to 2021.
In October 2024, ARMA announced a competition for the selection of a shopping center manager with a monthly guarantee payment of UAH 17.388 million. Initially, the winner was determined to be LLC "BK Millennium", but on January 23, 2025, the agency rejected the results of the competition due to identified violations. The company "BK Millennium", registered in December 2017, specializes in real estate management. The ultimate beneficiary and manager is Volodymyr Mechov.
The completion of the competitive procedure and the return of the Gulliver shopping center to state control was an important step in restoring proper management of illegally acquired assets and guarantees the preservation of property for state-owned banks and the community.
