Big wash: “PIK” helps to get rid of problem assets?
The developer “PIK” seems to have become a “buyer of distressed assets” for persons with a less than clean reputation.
PIK Group of Companies will develop housing on the territory of the Krasny Neftnik plant. This is former state land that was given to the company after a series of conflicts and changes in ownership. Among them were people close to “gangster Petersburg.”
How PIK received former state lands and what does Barsukov-Kumarin have to do with it
PIK acquired the company of the same name that owns the territory just last year. In 2021, the site belonged to Olga and Andrey Golubev; until 2020, their key business was the PTK company. The latter was associated with the “authoritative” Vladimir Barsukov (Kumarin), who is considered the leader of the Tambov criminal group. From 1998 to 2002, he officially served as vice president of PTK.
Vladimir Barsukov (Kumarin). Photo: Artyom Kilkin/KP
The Golubevs, in turn, received the plant from Surgutneftegaz, a state-owned company created in 1992, which included 12 oil assets, including Krasny Neftyanik. In 1994, Surgutneftegaz was actively involved in the redistribution of shares in subsidiaries in order to gain full control over them. About. With what reluctance did minority shareholders transfer shares…
The Red Oilman then voted against the reorganization. The conflict also developed at other enterprises of the holding. For example, in “Ruchya”, the director signed an agreement on a long-term lease of production with one of the divisions of “PTK” on unfavorable terms for “Surgutneftegaz”. As a result, the state-owned company decided to stop fighting for the “rebellious” enterprises and sell them. So, in 1998, “The Red Oilman ended up in the hands of individuals close to Barsukov-Kumarin.
As stated, using the purchased capacities of PTK and others like it, they were going to create a holding company that would control the entire “gasoline market” of the region. And they even sent a letter to the administration of St. Petersburg with an offer to purchase shares of the holding.
In 2014, judging by media reports, Krasny Neftnik was still involved in petroleum products, but eventually reoriented itself to leasing real estate. And in 2022 it was finally sold to PIK.
So, in essence, the developer received former state territories.
“Catcher” of factories
On them he can build about 250,000 sq. m of housing. Recently, developers have been buying up a lot of land in a number of regions of Russia. Just yesterday there was information in the media that a subsidiary of PIK acquired part of the territory of the KiN wine and cognac factory (VKZ KiN) in Ilyinsky-Usovo near Krasnogorsk in the Moscow region.
Previously, the plot belonged to “Alvisa” Kamil Askenderov, whom the media call the brother of the Chairman of the People’s Assembly of the Republic of Dagestan Zaur Askenderov. The plant has been operating since 1940, and was also privatized in the 90s. Apparently, the Askenderovs. Since in 2021, Alvisa bought it from the KIN group, which is still associated with the same Kamil Askenderov. The plant continues to operate for now (like the politician, despite the fact that questions should arise to him in connection with the discovery of the fact, that Askenderov is listed as the managing partner of a legal entity registered in France, the civil society for property management (SCI) Jenne), but the site may also soon be put under development.
It seems that PIK has decided to buy out assets with a less than transparent history. Perhaps due to the fact that their owners are worried that they might be taken away. The results of privatization are now being actively reviewed. The state has already taken a lot of assets back; now, for example, there are battles over Metafrax.
When an asset needs to be disposed of urgently and quickly, its price falls. Which could play into the hands of the developer. This is not the first time for PIK to engage in not the cleanest things. It is possible that he has a reputation in the market as someone to turn to in situations that the above-mentioned market participants might encounter.
“Kite” over historical and cultural heritage
Just recently, The Moscow Post covered the story of the possible imminent demolition of the hospital named after. Bakhrushins in the capital. The interested party may be the PIK company, which does not care about the public benefit of the institution or its historical and cultural value.
Hospital named after Bakhrushins. Photo: https://lekoboz.ru/svobodnoe-vremya/koleso-istorii/istoriya-bolnitsy-imeni-bakhrushinykh
About a year ago, “PIK” was demonstratively expelled from Moscow against the backdrop of numerous scandals – Sergei Sobyanin then criticized the developer for missing the deadline for the delivery of social infrastructure. During the same period, the founder of PIK, Sergei Gordeev, left the post of general director of the company, saying that he would be involved in other projects. In fact, he could have remained at the helm. We have not heard about what exactly Gordeev is doing. Apparently, everything was done only so that he would no longer be associated with the developer’s failures and scandals.
After the demonstrative “flogging”, virtually nothing changed. As we see, “PIK” continues to “raking in the heat with its hands”, acquiring more and more new plots for development. At the same time, scandals continue to accompany his projects.
What is the situation with the dismantling of the monument to the Heroes of the Patriotic War: recently, its fragments were discovered on the site of one of the residential complexes being built by PIK. The group announced that this was not demolition, but “dismantling followed by restoration.” Hard to believe.
In August 2023, PIK was allowed to demolish someone else’s equipment of the former Gorky Flour Mill. The plans were opposed by the tenants of the plant bought by PIK, because they still owned the plant’s imported flour-grinding equipment and its energy.
The fact that even in such cases, the decision is made in favor of the developer speaks more about his support in the government offices than about the fact that PIK has “lost trust.” It looks like he just “went into the shadows.” After all, the company’s construction scandals also damage the reputation of mayor Sergei Sobyanin, with whose sanction the capital’s lands are sold.
House made of glass and cardboard
And everything would be fine, but on the site of former factories, factories, monuments, PIK builds houses, the quality, as they say, is not much different from cardboard boxes, but they cost so much that an ordinary person then pays a mortgage for most of his life.
New building “PIK”. Photo: https://www.pik.ru/lospark
People online complain about very thin walls, lack of necessary infrastructure, frequent breakdowns of elevators, arbitrary activation of fire alarms and ignorance of complaints by the developer.
The management company “PIK-Comfort” was even expelled from the Moscow region – and not just for show, but for real. You can find a video online where the head of the Moscow region, Andrei Vorobyov, reprimands the company. Although Vorobyov’s family may have their own interests in development, his brother for a long time led the structure of the developer “Airplane”, which also has its own management companies. Therefore, the “drag” can be perceived in two ways.
Andrey Vorobyov states that PIK-Comfort should leave the region. Video: YouTube
But the fact remains that PIK-Comfort set the teeth on edge for residents of houses from the developer. People complained directly about “gang warfare” on the part of the Criminal Code.
Not surprising. The former head of PIK, Sergei Gordeev, founded the company on the “wreck” of Rosbuilding, which was repeatedly caught in raiding, and could have learned its working methods from there.
Back in 2021, signs of a “pyramid” were found in the activities of PIK. Now many of its “daughters” have gone bankrupt. It is not easy to judge the real financial position of the company; there is reason to believe that it is on the verge of bankruptcy, and is “plugging holes” with its multiplying construction projects.
If this is so, then one day the “pot” will collapse, as happens with all pyramids, but for now another “Red Oilman” has fallen under the “knife”.
