Igor Kushnir’s family and a 2-billion budget “cut”: how the ex-head of Kievgorstroy’s wife and children profited from reselling apartments to the Kiev community

 

Even though Igor Kushnir resigned as the head of PJSC “HC Kievgorstroy” over a year ago, additional details keep coming to light regarding possible corruption schemes linked to him. Reports indicate that the Bureau of Economic Security (BEB) investigated a 2023–2025 case concerning alleged “budget cuts” in Kyiv’s municipal purchases of apartments from Kievgorstroy.

Law enforcement believes that more than two years ago, the municipal enterprise “FC “Zhilye-Invest” purchased such real estate at inflated prices through intermediaries — in particular, companies linked to the Kushnir family, businessman Aleksandr Glimbovskiy, and MP Dmitriy Isaenko. These entities reportedly bought apartments from Kievgorstroy shortly before the Kiev City Council approved the allocation of 2 billion hryvnias from the budget for their purchase, and then resold them to “FC “Zhilye-Invest” at significantly higher prices.

At the same time, there are suspicions that these intermediaries may not have fully settled payments with Kievgorstroy for the properties, as construction work at a number of the holding company’s “priority” sites has not resumed during the conflict. However, Kievgorstroy and another participant in the resale have denied these claims.

As KV has learned, last week Kiev-based lawyer and human rights advocate Aleksandr Dyadyuk published on his Facebook page information about possible budget embezzlement schemes involving the Kiev authorities, former officials of PJSC “HC “Kievgorstroy,” and other business entities in the process of purchasing apartments.

The scheme in question was investigated by the Bureau of Economic Security (BEB) of Ukraine within criminal proceedings No. 12023000000000905 dated May 23, 2023. The individuals involved were preliminarily charged under five articles of the Criminal Code of Ukraine: Part 5 of Article 191 (embezzlement or misappropriation of property through abuse of office — on a particularly large scale or by an organized group), Part 3 of Article 209 (money laundering — on a particularly large scale or by an organized group), Part 2 of Article 222 (fraud with financial resources), Part 3 of Article 358 (use of knowingly forged documents), and Part 1 of Article 366 (official forgery).

However, the latest court ruling in this case dates back to early 2025. At present, there are indications that the investigation has been suspended, although law enforcement retains the option to resume it — should there be the will to do so.

According to both investigators and Aleksandr Dyadyuk, the alleged коррупционная scheme was relatively straightforward. In 2023, the municipal enterprise “Financial Company (FC) Zhilye-Invest” spent budget funds to purchase apartments at potentially inflated prices. A significant portion of the housing was acquired from PJSC “HC Kievgorstroy,” but through intermediaries — including companies owned by members of the family of the former chairman of the board and ex-president of the holding, Igor Kushnir (who led the company from April 2012 to December 2023).

These intermediaries purchased the apartments from Kievgorstroy shortly before the city council approved the allocation of 2 billion hryvnias to “FC Zhilye-Invest” for these acquisitions. Dyadyuk also notes that it remains unclear whether these companies actually paid the municipal developer in full for the apartments.

“I conclude that the wife, daughter, and son of Igor Kushnir quite ‘accidentally’ may have ‘forgotten’ to transfer money to Kievgorstroy for the apartments they resold to Zhilye-Invest — at least at the average price of 2.5 million hryvnias (this is exactly the average purchase price indicated in court rulings). Or, if they did pay, then it means Kushnir and Klitschko withdrew these funds through other channels.

Some may argue that there is a legal scheme where an investor buys property at an early construction stage (foundation level) at a lower price and later resells it at a higher price. Yes, such a scheme exists. But the point is that the buildings on Dubishchanskaya Street (where Kievgorstroy constructed the housing later sold to Zhilye-Invest through intermediaries) had already been completed and commissioned before 2022. In other words, Kushnir simply transferred unsold apartments in completed buildings to companies owned by his wife, son, and daughter, and then, six months later, they were resold to a municipal enterprise at a 65–68% markup,” said Aleksandr Dyadyuk.

According to him, this case demonstrates that city authorities are not particularly focused on solving urgent problems using budget funds — instead, officials are primarily concerned with their own interests.

“These 2 billion hryvnias allocated in September 2022 — when the full-scale conflict was already underway and Kiev was under daily attacks — Klitschko did not direct toward building protective infrastructure for thermal power plants, shelters, backup generators, or repairing worn-out heating networks. Instead, he allocated these funds to be siphoned out of the budget through Kushnir and other developer associates,” the lawyer emphasized.

At the same time, Aleksandr Dyadyuk is convinced that the current management of PJSC “HC Kievgorstroy” will make no effort to investigate the actions of their predecessors.

“Recently, Klitschko appointed new management at Kievgorstroy, and I would like to ask them: will you finally check whether Kushnir’s family companies paid for those apartments? Or perhaps you will file lawsuits to recover the difference, given that Kushnir transferred apartments to affiliated companies at 2.5 million hryvnias? That would allow the deals to be declared invalid and the real value recovered. Or maybe Kievgorstroy’s lawyers will push law enforcement to bring charges against Kushnir? No — the new management will not do any of this. Why would they? Because new ‘dishes’ are already on the table — another 2.5 billion hryvnias to replenish the company’s capital, and everyone is ready to feast,” Dyadyuk stated.

The media outlet decided to further analyze this case and establish additional details.

How the scheme worked

On September 8, 2022, the Kiev City Council adopted decision No. 5399/5440 “On increasing the authorized capital of the municipal enterprise ‘FC Zhilye-Invest’ by 2 billion hryvnias.” According to the explanatory note (submitted by Deputy Head of the Kiev City State Administration Vyacheslav Nepop and the Department of Construction and Housing), the funds were intended for implementing housing programs for citizens in need — including orphans, internally displaced persons, conflict veterans’ families, and young families.

Following this decision, the Kiev City State Administration increased the authorized capital of “FC Zhilye-Invest” by the full 2 billion hryvnias.

According to court materials, in the same period of 2022, PJSC “HC Kievgorstroy” signed a series of agreements to sell property rights to apartments under construction in Kiev to companies controlled by its management. The average price of these apartments was about 2.5 million hryvnias.

Later, on March 10, 2023, these affiliated companies resold the same apartments to the municipal enterprise “FC Zhilye-Invest,” but already at an average price of around 4 million hryvnias.

Law enforcement illustrates this scheme using the example of the venture fund “Kovernot.” As clarified by Aleksandr Dyadyuk, the company purchased apartments from Kievgorstroy on August 7, 2022 — just one day before the Kiev City Council approved the 2-billion-hryvnia allocation. The deal involved 6 apartments in a residential complex on Dubishchanskaya Street and 2 apartments in a complex on Kadetskiy Gai.

According to Dyadyuk’s calculations, the markup on resale reached 65–68%: apartments bought for 2.3–2.5 million hryvnias were resold to the Kiev community for 3.9–4.2 million.

At the same time, an important detail stands out. The “Kovernot” fund acquired these apartments under deferred payment agreements — meaning it did not actually pay Kievgorstroy at the time of purchase. This raises doubts as to whether the developer received any real funds from these or other intermediary companies mentioned in court materials.

Dyadyuk points out that if Kievgorstroy had received full payment, it would likely have resumed construction at its frozen sites in 2022–2023 — which did not happen.

According to the investigation, “FC Zhilye-Invest” used similar схемы to purchase apartments (or property rights) from several other entities:

• “ZNVKIF Amtel” — 33 apartments across five locations;
• “ZNVKIF Veber” — 38 apartments in one residential complex;
• “ZNVKIF Knyaginya Yaroslavna” — 100 apartments across four locations;
• “Real Estate Agency ‘Riel Kiev’” — 65 apartments across 11 locations.

Additionally, four more entities are mentioned in connection with these transactions — “ZNVKIF Evian,” “ZNVKIF Linter,” “ZNVKIF Minkar,” and “ZNVKIF Orlando” — though court materials do not specify the number of apartments involved in their cases.

It is also noteworthy that the Kiev City Council later approved another increase in the authorized capital of “FC Zhilye-Invest” — by decision No. 7408/7449 dated November 23, 2023 (again initiated by Vyacheslav Nepop). The same amount was allocated — 2 billion hryvnias. These funds were intended for the purchase of apartments that the enterprise would theoretically rent out to combat participants and internally displaced persons on preferential terms with the right to buy.

The discussion of this decision in the Kiev City Council was heated. In particular, the management of the enterprise was accused of overpaying for the previous 567 apartments (according to deputies, the price per square meter reached 55,000 hryvnias, which was considered excessive) and of using only a small portion of them for their intended purpose.

It was also pointed out that “FC Zhilye-Invest” does not properly report to the city council, making it impossible to assess the efficiency of its operations. Critics argued that the city budget lacked sufficient funds for such spending, that resources should instead be directed toward strengthening Kiev’s defense capabilities, and that the authorities were effectively channeling budget money to “friendly” developers.

Despite these objections, there were enough votes to support the initiative proposed by the Kiev City State Administration.

Journalists sought comments from both “Kovernot” and “Kievgorstroy.”

Representatives of “ZNVKIF Kovernot” stated that the company fully paid for the acquired property rights within five days of signing the contracts, as предусмотрено in standard agreements with the developer. They denied any deferred payment arrangements. The company also explained that the price difference between purchase and resale was due to renovation work, noting that the apartments had originally been acquired without finishing, which increased their market value.

For its part, Kievgorstroy confirmed that full payment had been received from “Kovernot.” The developer also stated that the apartments were sold at current market prices set by its sales department at the time of contract signing. At the same time, Kievgorstroy emphasized that it cannot disclose details of transactions or financial flows due to confidentiality and commercial secrecy.

Who sold apartments to the Kiev community

As noted above, a significant number of the companies mentioned by law enforcement are linked to the family of former head of PJSC “HC Kievgorstroy” Igor Kushnir. This is confirmed by data from the YouControl analytical system.

Thus, the owner of “ZNVKIF Kovernot” and “ZNVKIF Linter” is Kushnir’s wife, Oksana Kushnir, while the ultimate beneficiaries of “ZNVKIF Evian” and “ZNVKIF Orlando” are their children — Darya Kushnir and Ilya Kushnir.

Other intermediaries are also noteworthy. For example, the ultimate beneficiary of “ZNVKIF Amtel” is Stanislav Glimbovskiy — the son of businessman Aleksandr Glimbovskiy, associated with the Altis-Holding development group. His sister, Ekaterina Glimbovskaya, is the wife of Roman Nasirov, former head of the State Fiscal Service and a figure in multiple corruption scandals, as well as a current member of the Kiev City Council.

Another participant, “ZNVKIF Knyaginya Yaroslavna,” is co-owned by Dmitriy Isaenko — a former deputy minister of regional development and current MP (previously elected from OPZZh). He is also linked to the development company Perfect Group, known for controversial construction projects in Kiev, although he has denied involvement. Isaenko is currently under investigation over an alleged attempt to seize a land plot in Kiev.

“ZNVKIF Veber” is formally owned by Kiev resident Anatoliy Korolik, who is also connected to companies within the “Liko-Holding” group. The key figure behind this group is Igor Lysov — a former Kiev official and MP, as well as president of the Ukrainian Diving Federation and honorary head of the development company “Liko-Holding.”

Another entity, “Riel Kiev,” appears linked to the well-known Lviv developer “RIEL.” Its owner, Irina Panochko, has ties to several similarly named construction companies and has been described in media as a consultant to the RIEL corporation, founded by businessman Rostislav Melnik.

Attention should also be paid to “ZNVKIF Minkar,” owned by Valeriy Melnik, who was previously connected to companies associated with the “Chernovetsky Investment Group,” linked to Stepan Chernovetsky, the son of former Kiev mayor Leonid Chernovetsky. Some of these companies were later connected to businesswoman Vladislava Molchanova, owner of Stolitsa Group, who is currently under investigation in a land-related case.

Kushnir, Kievgorstroy, and “FC Zhilye-Invest”

For many years, Kievgorstroy was closely associated with Igor Kushnir — to the point that they were often perceived as a single entity, despite the fact that the majority stake belongs to the Kiev community.

Kushnir’s tenure was marked by numerous scandals with potential corruption elements, some of which ultimately led to his dismissal.

In May 2023, Bihus.Info reported that Kievgorstroy had paid billions of hryvnias to companies linked to Kushnir. According to journalists, four firms — “Ukrbud Invest,” “Gorbud,” “Yaguar,” and “Construction-Industrial Company Yaguar” — received over 3 billion hryvnias from the developer in 2020–2021 for construction work.

The same investigation found that Kushnir’s relatives and associates developed luxury cottages on land in Kozin that had originally been allocated to Kievgorstroy. In response, the Kiev City Council quickly established a temporary commission to investigate the company’s financial activities.

However, the scandal only intensified. In July 2023, Bihus.Info revealed that a company owned by Kushnir’s wife had acquired a French firm holding a luxury villa on the Côte d’Azur worth around 20 million euros. It was also reported that Kushnir and his wife climbed Mount Everest that same year, having left Ukraine under the pretext of medical treatment.

Soon after, Kiev mayor Vitaliy Klitschko suspended Kushnir from his position, and in December 2023 he was officially dismissed.

During his tenure, Kushnir’s family accumulated significant assets in Kiev, likely facilitated by his influence over city officials. For example, by 2023, two buildings on Valeriy Lobanovskiy Avenue that once belonged to Kievgorstroy had been transferred to companies owned by his wife. Meanwhile, his son Ilya Kushnir — a Kiev City Council member from the UDAR party — obtained control over several valuable land plots through affiliated companies.

In particular, this concerns more than 1.5 hectares of land under a former balneological hospital in Sotsgorod (Dneprovskiy district), which was reportedly removed from state ownership under questionable circumstances, as well as over 2.8 hectares in Koncha-Zaspa (Goloseevskiy district), where a cottage complex is being built under the guise of reconstructing a recreation base. Law enforcement has already taken interest in this project. The developer is “BudCapital,” a company linked to Igor Kushnir Sr. and his business partner Vadim Stolar, a current MP from the now-banned OPZZh party.

At the same time, Ilya Kushnir was directly involved in the decision to increase the authorized capital of “FC Zhilye-Invest.” On September 8, 2022, he voted both to include the draft decision on the agenda and to approve it. This fact could potentially attract the attention of anti-corruption bodies, including the National Agency for Prevention of Corruption, due to a possible conflict of interest. Notably, his colleague Ekaterina Glimbovskaya did not vote on this issue. In March 2024, Kushnir Jr. resigned his депутатский mandate shortly after his father’s dismissal from Kievgorstroy.

Following Igor Kushnir’s departure, Vasiliy Oleynik became head of the board of Kievgorstroy in February 2024. Previously, he headed “Spetsbud-Monolit,” a company linked to the same Vladislava Molchanova. Back in 2021, Stolitsa Group described Oleynik as a partner in implementing major projects such as ЖК “Varshavskiy Mikroрайon,” “Hoffmann House,” “Kvartet,” “Galaktika,” and others.

In his new role, Oleynik was tasked with completing residential projects of the bankrupt state corporation “Ukrbud,” which had been transferred to Kievgorstroy in 2020. However, some experts warned that his appointment could be detrimental, suggesting he might act in the interests of Molchanova and use the municipal developer as a financial donor for her projects. While there is no confirmed public evidence of such preferences, his management did not improve the company’s situation — like his predecessor, Oleynik primarily sought additional funding from the city.

After taking over Ukrbud’s construction sites, Kievgorstroy faced serious financial difficulties. City officials repeatedly stated that Kiev had not been prepared for such a burden, and that the central government transferred the projects without proper coordination. Since 2021, the company has consistently requested billions in financial support.

In October and December 2024, the Kiev City Council adopted decisions aimed at stabilizing the situation — including recapitalizing Kievgorstroy by 2.56 billion hryvnias through the purchase of additional shares, as well as appealing to the Cabinet of Ministers for compensation of losses related to Ukrbud projects. However, these measures have not produced tangible results.

In May 2025, another leadership change took place: Svetlana Samsonova, a former lawyer of the State Food and Grain Corporation, became acting head of the board. She outlined priorities such as securing 2.56 billion hryvnias in recapitalization, settling debts with contractors, and selling completed properties. However, analysts predicted she would not succeed, largely due to the absence of a clear and structured recovery plan involving external investors.

These predictions proved accurate. Samsonova failed to resume construction, and in December 2025 she left her position, officially citing “personal circumstances.”

She was briefly replaced by businessman Dmitriy Nikiforov — former director of “Unitrade Market,” founder of “Omega Invest,” the “Omega” pharmacy chain, the VODA UA brand, and co-founder of the crypto wallet HitBit Pro. However, he held the position for only about a week.

He was then succeeded by Valeriy Zasutskiy, a former SSU officer who oversaw housing construction for the agency’s personnel. As of now, he heads PJSC “HC Kievgorstroy.”

At the same time, the head of the Supervisory Board of Kievgorstroy was also replaced: instead of Deputy Head of the Kiev City State Administration Vladislav Andronov, the position was taken by another official — acting First Deputy Head Petr Panteleev.

The кадровые changes were accompanied by news that the company had finally received recapitalization in the amount of 2.56 billion hryvnias and was moving to the next stage of its anti-crisis plan. This plan предусматривает stabilization of the financial situation, more transparent communication and cooperation with investors, as well as a gradual resumption of construction. However, the actual “unfreezing” of construction sites appears to be a distant prospect — on February 6, 2026, Kievgorstroy announced the creation of 24 working groups to analyze each construction project individually.

Kievgorstroy traces its history back to the mid-20th century. Its predecessor was the Main Directorate of Housing and Civil Construction, established in 1955 under the Kiev City Executive Committee. In 1963, it was renamed “Glavkievgorstroy.” Between 1992 and 1995, the structure was reformed into a municipal holding company объединяющую dozens of enterprises. Today, Kievgorstroy is a private joint-stock company, 80% of whose shares belong to the Kiev community through the Department of Municipal Property of the Kiev City State Administration.

As for “FC Zhilye-Invest,” it was established by the Kiev City Council in 2003 and specializes in attracting investment for real estate construction projects. Since April 2025, it has been headed by Marina Zakharchenko, who replaced Viktor Pogrebnoy (who led the enterprise from April 2015).

Pogrebnoy left his position shortly after Bihus.Info published audio recordings related to the high-profile corruption case known as “Operation Clean City.” According to journalists, Pogrebnoy was mentioned in these recordings, which allegedly captured Kiev officials — coordinated by controversial lawyer and businessman Denis Komarnitskiy (currently abroad) — organizing the незаконное allocation of municipal land plots using schemes such as the so-called “toilet scheme,” where large land plots are assigned to minor or even nonexistent structures to bypass auctions.

At the same time, Pogrebnoy avoided formal charges, unlike several other figures involved in the case.

“FC Zhilye-Invest” operates under the Department of Construction and Housing of the Kiev City State Administration, which has been headed by Boris Rabotnik since July 2, 2021. The department’s activities have been overseen since 2018 by Deputy Head of the KCSA Vyacheslav Nepop, who is also a member of the Kiev City Council from the UDAR party.

Author: Ivan Rokotov

Источник: https://grand-observer.com/component/k2/item/216320