Take a telegraph, or Vashchenko is in touch

04.12.2023 Актуально

Take a telegraph, or Vashchenko is in touch

The interests of people from the Region investment group, Pavel Vashchenko and Valery Mikhailov, may still be behind the project to remodel the Moscow Central Telegraph.

Behind the refurbishment of the iconic cultural site of Moscow – the Central Telegraph – into more offices, cafes and shops are the interests of a company associated with Timur Batkin, a former top manager of Donstroy and a shareholder of the collapsed Forbank. He, in turn, may be associated with the Cyprus offshore Riverstretch Trading & Investments, whose beneficiaries – Pavel Vashchenko and Valery Mikhailov, who came from the Region investment group – at one time received a number of assets for debts from the founder of Donstroy Maxim Blazhko and the O1 Properties company from ex-billionaire Boris Mints. The correspondent looked into the story of who is behind a major project

How cultural heritage was sold

The Central Telegraph building was built in 1927 according to the design of the architect I.I. Rerberg. They plan to turn it into a multifunctional center with offices, shops, cafes, and also add a two-level underground parking to the cultural heritage site. Just the other day, the state examination approved the adjustment of the design documentation.

Photo: https://egrz.ru/

The telegraph building itself has previously been involved in a scandalous story. In the early 2000s, it was transferred to the balance sheet of CJSC Telegraph, a subsidiary controlled by Rostelecom of the Central Telegraph company, but then control over the company was lost, but the deal was protested by the state holding Svyazinvest, in whose division the telegraph was . In 2004, part of the space was returned to the structure of OJSC Svyazinvest, but some by that time had been sold to a certain company called Unika-invest. As CNews reported, the latter was considered connected with ex-Minister of Communications Leonid Reiman.

It is noteworthy: Telegraph CJSC was headed by the son of the President of North Ossetia Alexander Dzasokhov – Sergei, ex-deputy general director of Svyazinvest. In 2006, Dzasokhova, together with a number of other persons, even tried to claim 171 million rubles in damages for the deal with Unika Invest, but the court rejected the claims.

Photo: https://sudrf.cntd.ru/document/813380488

But let’s return to the telegraph building.

It should be noted here that a year ago, next to the project for remaking the Central Telegraph, the media mentioned a certain development group VOS’HOD, which the media reported as the new owner of the building in 2021.

The beneficiaries of Voskhod LLC (the legal entity of the group) are the former head of the Future financial group Marina Rudneva and Evgeny Dyadkin (through Tirso JSC, which replaced the Cyprus company Impelear Ltd. in the list of owners). The media previously reported on one of the transactions of the Vos’hod group – the purchase of the Krylatskoye golf club. It is known that Rudneva previously worked at O1 Properties Mints.

Dyadkin is the director of Tirso JSC, which owns a 70% stake in Voskhod. It was not possible to establish whose interests he represents, but back in February 2023, the media named among the founders of the development group not only Rudneva, but also the shareholder of O1 Properties – the Cyprus company RT&I Vashchenko and Mikhailov. In addition, the Voskhod company, judging by its reporting, has financial investments in the company Yofoura Holding Limited, which is a shareholder of the investment company O1 Properties. So maybe the sum did not change due to the rearrangement of the terms?

Photo: https://bo.nalog.ru

But the above persons are not the only ones who have a trump card interest in the Central Telegraph project.

And what does Batkin have to do with it?

In the project card, a certain LLC “Specialized Developer “Central Telegraph” (successor of JSC Stick Invest), which was established in July 2019 and belongs to a certain little-known Alexander Kozlov personally and through LLC “Proxima,” appears as a developer.

At the same time, the Voskhod company has a business relationship with this developer (novation agreement and loan agreement), which indirectly indicates a connection between the owners.

Photo: https://bo.nalog.ru/

Photo: https://www.audit-it.ru/

But the technical customer is much more interesting. It is General Directorate Center LLC, established in August 2023 as the legal successor of General Directorate Center CJSC. The director of the company is Felix Isaakovich Batkin, who had close ties with Sobyanin’s mayor’s office and the construction department. The owner of the LLC is Timur Feliksovich Batkin (probably the son of the director). The name of the latter previously appeared as the name of the shareholder of the collapsed Forbank.

In addition, according to open data, Timur Batkin was an employee of the Daimler-Chrysler AG concern and, since 2002, the deputy general director of the DonStroy company, the same one whose founder was Maxim Bazhko, who later dealt with RT&I Vashchenko and Mikhailov.

Thus, we can conclude that the real interests of the same Vashchenko and Mikhailov may still lie behind the telegraph building that is being passed over like a cup and the project of converting it into some kind of multifunctional center.

moscow-post

Batkin Felix Batkin Timur Bazhko Mikhail CJSC Telegraph Concern Daimler-Chrysler AG Dyadkin Evgeniy Dzasokhov Alexander Forbank GC Region JSC Central Telegraph JSC SK Donstroy JSC Stik Invest JSC Tirso Kozlov Alexander LLC Voskhod Mikhailov Valery Mints Boris Moscow Moscow Central Telegraph Offshores OJSC Svyazinvest Proxima LLC Rudneva Marina Russia Sudarikov Sergey Ulyukaev Alexey Unika invest LLC Vashchenko Pavel