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Pechersk District Court arrests Russian-owned premium hotels, two shopping centres in Kyiv

In particular, Premier hotels in four cities were arrested with a ban on alienation.

Pechersk District Court arrests Russian-owned premium hotels, two shopping centres in Kyiv
Aleksandr Babakov
Photo: Russian media

The court arrested seven hotels and two shopping centres that are actually owned by Russian citizens, the press service of the State Bureau of Investigation reported.

In particular, the decision of the Pechersk District Court of Kyiv imposed arrests with a ban on alienation on Premier Palace Hotel, Premier Hotel Rus, Premier Hotel Lybid and Premier Hotel Slavutych (Kyiv), Premier Hotel Dnister (Lviv), Premier Hotel Odessa (Odesa), Premier Compass Hotel Oleksandriya (Oleksandriya), premises of Metrograd Exhibition and Trade Centre and the Metropolis shopping mall (Kyiv), as well as on corporate rights and shares of the above companies.

"The State Investigation Bureau in close cooperation with the Prosecutor General's Office established that the nominal beneficial owners of these objects are foreign citizens and non-resident companies that are directly related to citizens of the aggressor country. These include high-ranking officials and deputies of the State Duma of the Russian Federation," the Bureau noted.

The State Bureau of Investigation is checking the involvement of these Russians in the activities of a criminal organization that committed a number of crimes in Ukraine. In particular, it established that the members of this organization illegally seized a part of Ukraine's critical energy infrastructure (regional power distribution companies – “oblenergo”) and other businesses of the country.

On 11 November 2022, the Pechersk District Court of Kyiv arrested stakes in strategic Ukrainian enterprises (Zhytomyroblenergo, Khersonoblenergo, Kirovohradoblenergo, Chernivtsioblenergo and Rivneoblenergo) and shares, the ultimate owners of which may be the same persons.

Also, on 30 November 2022, SBI officers served a notice of suspicion under part three of Article 110 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine ("Encroachment on the territorial integrity and inviolability of Ukraine") to the Deputy Chairman of the State Duma of Russia Aleksandr Babakov, who voted for several federal laws on the inclusion of Zaporizhzhya and Kherson regions, as well as the Autonomous Republic of Crimea into the Russian Federation as newly formed subjects of the federal republic.

The above five regional power companies are controlled by Russians Aleksandr Babakov, Yevgeniy Giner and Mikhail Voevodin. Recently, the Security Service of Ukraine searched the VS Energy energy company, which owns these regional power companies.

This company is the ultimate beneficiary of the Metrograd shopping mall located in the city centre. It also owns Metropolis.

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