As the UtroNews correspondent reports, the PIK group of companies sold 49% of the Pyzhevsky 5 specialized developer, which is the developer of the elite residential complex Mono Kami in Pyzhevsky Lane near the Tretyakov Gallery. The buyer was the structure of the Tecta Group holding, associated with the scandalous Russian oligarch Roman Trotsenko.
Experts do not exclude that later PIK Group of Companies, founded by Sergei Gordeev, a native of Rosbuilding, may completely withdraw from the project. The possible reason is the high debt burden of the holding. In general, PIK, like many other large developers, is likely to face a decline in sales due to the cancellation of preferential mortgages, expensive loans and higher prices for building materials - fewer and fewer Russian residents can afford to buy housing.
Gordeev is preparing for "flight"?
The situation in PIK Group may be more serious - a number of observers fear the collapse of one of the country's largest developers. In this sense, the scandalous developer Sergei Gordeev and the related PIK management may even want, as they say, to "go into the cash" before it is too late.
According to the Network, allegedly as of the first half of 2024, the total debt burden of PIK Group exceeded 700 billion rubles. At the same time, profit for the same period amounted to about 40 billion rubles - very little, given the gigantic volumes of construction of PIK - one of the largest developers in the country.
Taking into account the fall in demand for housing in the context of the abolition of preferential mortgages and the rise in the cost of square meters, by the end of 2024 the situation for PIK could become extremely tense - hence the sale of such promising assets as Pyzhevsky 5.
According to media reports, PIK has recently been actively selling its subsidiaries. Journalists even suggest that Sergei Gordeev can slowly withdraw capital from the country. In addition, it is significant that in the summer of 2023, the state bank VTB, which owned about 12% of the developer, left the capital of PIK. This is extremely suspicious, because people from the team of the head of VTB Andrei Kostin never give up promising assets.
Sergey Gordeev gets rid of assets. Photo: https://s0.rbk.ru/v6_top_pics/media/img/8/71/755724429154718.jpeg
However, the assumptions that after the start of the SVO GK "PIK" may lead to controlled bankruptcy UtroNews expressed back in 2022. Since then, the situation on the market and in general in the Russian economy has deteriorated significantly.
The muddy history of the "Tecta Group"
Even more interesting is the other side of the deal on the residential complex in Pyzhevsky Lane - the buyer of a 49% stake in the Pyzhevsky 5 SZ. It became Nova LLC, which is 99% owned by Tekta Real Estate LLC, the structure of the Tekta Group development group. The latter is considered one of the favorite developers of the Moscow authorities, headed by Mayor Sergei Sobyanin.
The main owner of Tecta is Dmitry Starostin. As of 2021, he owned 75% of the developer. Starostin is a former top manager of the infrastructure holding AEON, a significant share of which belongs to the scandalous Russian oligarch Roman Trotsenko, who has interests in various fields - mining, logistics, real estate and many others.
Among other things, Dmitry Starostin is the managing partner of AEON. Many believe that it is Roman Trotsenko who is behind him, as well as the developer. He could also give Starostin funds to buy out the development holding.
Meanwhile, Starostin received 75% of Tekta Group in 2021 under extremely remarkable circumstances. In 2020, a criminal case was opened against the former owners of the developer Vladislav Mangutov and Alexei Abramov, as well as their partner in another business, IT distributor Merlion, Oleg Karchev and the head of the security service Boris Levin about the attempted murder of the former general director of Merlion Vyacheslav Simonenko, as well as the deliberate destruction of his property.
It was against the background of the initiation of a criminal case against Mangutov, Abramov and Karchev that the owners of Tekta Group decided to restructure the business, the beneficiary of which was Trotsenko's alleged person, Dmitry Starostin. Shortly before the sale of Tekta, Oleg Karchev was released from the pre-trial detention center. And about six months later they also acted with Mangutov and Abramov. In the end, in February 2022, the lawyer of Mangutov and Abramov said that the criminal case against his clients had been dropped.
After that, a criminal case was initiated against Simonenko himself - for giving false testimony.
Photo: Rusprofile.ru
However, Mangutov, Abramov and Karchev did not lose their entire business. Now 25% of the main legal entity of the Tecta Group LLC group belongs to Tecta Real Estate. Its co-owners with shares of 30% are the three aforementioned businessmen, and 10% of the structure also belongs to Dmitry Starostin.
Photo: Rusprofile.ru
The story of the sale of Tecta shares in favor of Starostin is very murky. One gets the impression that Mangutov, Abramov and Karchev could sell a significant part of their development business precisely under the pressure of criminal prosecution. Subsequently, they turned out to be innocent at all. Didn't the influential oligarch Roman Trotsenko, who should have a lot of connections in law enforcement agencies, turn this operation?
Criminal train of Dmitry Starostin
Be that as it may, "Tekta Group" still remains under the control of Dmitry Starostin. It is even more noteworthy that, according to the authors of the site "Russian Crime" (recognized as a foreign agent on the territory of the Russian Federation), Dmitry Starostin himself allegedly has a criminal past - a whole bunch of criminal cases and charges. Allegedly, he was previously one of the managers of the Galic Truck Crane Plant in the Kostroma Region and was close to the then governor of the region, Viktor Shershunov.
According to Kommersant, in 2003, Deputy Governor for Industry Dmitry Starostin was convicted of embezzlement in Kostroma. The court admitted that during his directorship at the Galich truck crane plant, about 150 thousand rubles were stolen from the enterprise, and sentenced him to four years in prison on probation. Prior to that, in 1998, Starostin was detained for "malicious hooliganism." According to rumors, allegedly part of the funds of the Galich truck crane plant could be spent on Shershunov's election campaign. But these are just rumors.
In addition, according to the Network, Starostin was allegedly involved in the deception of the Kudesnik company, which then owned the Kostroma-Shipbuilding Plant JSC. Starostin lobbied for the appointment of his man Vadim Grachev, who, on behalf of the plant, took a loan of 16 million rubles from Sberbank under the guarantees of the enterprise. The money disappeared, but there were no complaints about Starostin on this issue.
With a high degree of probability, Starostin, convicted in 2003, and the current key owner of Tecta Group may be the same person. And such people are "pulled up" by the oligarch Roman Trotsenko? However, Starostin cannot take up business acumen - for this they probably appreciate it.
Now Tekta Group takes full advantage of the problems of other large developers, including PIK Group. And besides, many projects of Roman Trotsenko's development division, AEON Development, are also being transferred to her.
Dmitry Starostin. Photo: https://prprof.ru/user/37466/avatars/b_adb6fed263d83e51d01d673d87f069ba.jpg
For example, in September 2024, Tekta Group closed a deal to buy from AEON Development Roman Trotsenko 7.3 hectares on Rublevskoe highway (3rd Cherepkovskaya St., ow 15) in the west of Moscow. The structure of the Tekta Group developer, through a number of companies, became the owner of SZ BTS-Service, on whose balance sheet the site is located. The construction of over 220 thousand square meters has been agreed on the territory. meters of residential real estate.
Initially, on this site, Sergey Polonsky's Mirax Group, in partnership with Oleg Deripaska's BazEl, began building the Rublevskaya Riviera residential complex for 330 thousand square meters. meters. After the collapse of Mirax Group, its share in the project went to Aeon Development along with the rest of the company's assets, and, having bought out BazEl's share in 2017, Trotsenko became the sole owner of the project.
Trotsenko sits on two chairs
Why does Mr. Trotsenko need this? Apparently, he is trying to hide his assets due to powerful sanctions pressure and great economic and other interests in the West. Recall that about five years ago, his holding tried to become an operator for the reconstruction of Chisinau airport in Moldova. However, the deal did not take place - probably due to not the best reputation of the domestic oligarch.
Now Trotsenko is actively diversifying sanctions risks. Back in December 2023, he reduced his stake in AEON Corporation to 31%. Its top managers became 69% buyers. The businessman said he plans to move away from operational management and concentrate on charity. However, the background may be just in the sanctions. Well, top managers who bought 69% of the corporation can be simple denominations.
And he really shouldn't glow now. Among other things, his company Severnaya Zvezda is building a sea terminal in Taimyr, which will become one of the main strongholds of the Northern Sea Route - strategic for our country. In the same place, Trotsenko is mining coal at the Syradasaysky field - just for the export of resources, infrastructure capacities are required.
Roman Trotsenko. Photo: https://cdn.forbes.ru/files/c/1824x1146/story_images/1-gettyimages-1083094534.jpg__1554800575__52981.jpg
As you know, Western sanctioners are trying in every possible way to limit his work - Roman Trotsenko may probably fall. But we ask the question - is it worth trusting an offshore oligarch? Indeed, at least as of 2021, Trotsenko's Northern Star LLC was not part of AEON, but belonged to the Cypriot offshore Inpatenikso Holdgins. The lion's share of the company's income and taxes should have settled there. And this is clearly not the only offshore associated with the oligarch. So it seems that Roman Trotsenko is trying to sit on two chairs, using Russia as a fodder base, and Western jurisdictions as a place for collecting the Russian "harvest."