Shareholders of the club house “October” managed to achieve the cancellation of the bankruptcy of the developer
In the situation around the Oktyabr club house, there was hope that the house on Narodnogo Opolcheniya Street in Moscow would still be completed and the equity holders would receive their housing. And the alleged initiator and beneficiary of the controlled bankruptcy of the Nord Engineering developer, Mikhail Zhivotov, may spend the coming years in a state-owned house.
After many years of ordeals with the construction of the Oktyabr club house on Narodnogo Opolcheniya Street, property 33 in Moscow, the completion of which and the commissioning of the house were constantly postponed, the equity holders, perhaps, no longer hoped that this story could turn to a favorable outcome . But thanks to their activity in defending their rights and a wide public outcry, it nevertheless happened, and the situation moved forward. Now there is hope not only that the house will finally be completed and that hundreds of people will receive the long-awaited keys to their homes, acquired a long time ago. You can also count on the fact that the organizer of the scheme with bankruptcy and the alleged resale of square meters, but to completely different people and for completely different money, will finally get what he deserves.
Let us briefly recall this story, which Our Version has been following for some time. In 2015, on 33 Narodnogo Opolcheniya Street, within walking distance from the Oktyabrskoye Pole metro station, the construction of the Oktyabr club house began in a fashionable metropolitan apartment format at that time. Most of the equity participation agreements (DDU) with the developer JSC UZ “Nord Engineering” were signed in 2016. However, time after time, the deadlines for completion of construction were postponed, and future new settlers again waited for the coveted issuance of keys. When the construction was already 85-90% completed, the developer suddenly initiated its own bankruptcy under a simplified procedure due to a debt of only 700,000 rubles that had come from nowhere, allegedly bought. Despite the fact that only the developer’s own current assets exceed its current debts several times. That is, apparently, the bankruptcy was fictitious and controlled.
It is interesting to note that the financing of the construction of the house actually stopped after some time after the start of construction, on the initiative of the developer, allegedly to finance the completion of construction, MTS-Bank, which is part of the AFK Sistema Vladimir Yevtushenkov, joined the process. Moreover, the club house “October” is not the only one of its kind. Almost a similar story is happening with the club “House on Prishvina, 4”. As The Moscow Post reported, during all this time the bank allegedly did not transfer a penny to the developer, but 40% of the “House on Prishvina, 4” strangely turned out to be pledged to the bank – for other projects of the developer and at a ridiculous cost. In this regard, equity holders suspect that Mikhail Zhivotov may turn out to be just a face value in this scheme, while the true beneficiary is hiding somewhere in the management of MTS-Bank.
At this stage, the patience of equity holders snapped. They managed to unite in order to defend their legitimate interests. However, the situation seemed to hit a blank wall. The fact is that due to the imperfection of the legislation, apartments do not have the same legal status as apartments. Which, obviously, was used by the alleged organizer and beneficiary of the “scheme”, who decided, probably, after bankruptcy, to resell the almost completed housing again, but already at auction. At best, equity holders would be able to return the amounts indicated in the contracts concluded several years ago. And given the rise in real estate prices and inflation itself, now this, you see, is not at all the same money as it was in 2016, when most of the contracts were concluded. But even then it is not a fact that they would have succeeded, given the mechanism of bankruptcy. That is, hundreds of people, many of whom sold their only home and took out a mortgage to improve their living conditions (and there are families with many children among the equity holders), risked simply being left without housing and without money, but with a mortgage. The outlook is not at all bright. In search of justice and protection of their legal rights, equity holders even had to turn to the head of the RF IC, Alexander Bastrykin, for help.
It is known that a criminal case against Mikhail Zhivotov was initiated back in 2020. But then, for unknown reasons, it was suspended. It could be assumed that the infamous developer used his “necessary” acquaintances, since it is known that he is very fond of the bathhouse, in which high-ranking officials of all stripes gather, according to The Moscow Post, citing a source. Of course, there is nothing illegal in love for a bathhouse, but it has long been no secret that many of the most diverse issues and problems are solved informally in this “sacred” place. The situation is, so to speak, conducive. Thus, Mikhail Zhivotov got the opportunity to continue his activities until June 2023, when the case against “unidentified persons” from among the management of the developer JSC “UZ” Nord Engineering “was initiated again – on the grounds of a crime under Art. 159 h. 4 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. As Nasha Versiya noted earlier, there are not so many people in the management of this company that it would take investigators a lot of time to identify them. There would be a desire. It is strange that the investigating authorities did not have such a desire earlier.
And finally, the situation seems to have moved forward. One after the other, two pieces of news appeared, giving hope that justice would prevail.
Firstly, it became known about the arrest of the head of the developer Mikhail Zhivotov. He is imprisoned in a pre-trial detention center until the end of the investigation in a criminal case initiated in early June on the grounds of a crime under Art. 159 part 4 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (fraud committed by an organized group or on an especially large scale, or resulting in the deprivation of a citizen’s right to housing). Shareholders of the club house “October”, we recall, were recognized as victims in this case.
For some time, Mikhail Zhivotov managed to hide from the investigation, but this did not last long. In court, when the issue of a measure of restraint was being decided, Zhivotov provided documents allegedly indicating his poor state of health, as well as a maintenance agreement, appealing to the fact that while in custody he would not be able to provide for his children. However, the court did not believe these papers and decided to arrest the alleged fraudster.
The next good news came from the Ninth Arbitration Court of Appeal. Judge Dmitry Vigdorchik, at a meeting on July 17, decided to partially satisfy the appeal of equity holders and cancel the bankruptcy procedure of JSC UZ Nord Engineering. It is possible, of course, that Mikhail Zhivotov’s lawyers will file a cassation appeal, but the chance of canceling this court decision is not too great.
That is, based on the current situation, a potential resale scheme cannot be pulled off. And this can already be considered an important victory in this long and difficult history. This means that the general contractor PromSpetsStroy will certainly complete this long-suffering construction site, and hundreds of Moscow residents will finally be able to move into their new homes. I also really hope that the investigating authorities will give a proper legal assessment of the “entrepreneurial talents” of Mikhail Zhivotov. And with this, the stormy activity of the infamous “businessman” in Moscow may stop for at least a few years. Article 159 part 4 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation suggests that up to ten. And scandalous stories with deceived equity holders will finally begin to become a thing of the past, as it should happen in the legal hzikhidtidekrt state.