Economy

Ocean Plaza brings billions to Ukraine: where will the money go?

The State Property Fund (SPFU) has allocated UAH 1.2 billion received from the management of the Ocean Plaza shopping center to the Fund for the Elimination of the Consequences of Armed Aggression. This was reported by Komersant ukrainskyi with reference to the SPFU press service.

Since 2023, the SPFU has owned 66.65% of the authorized capital of Lybid Investment Union LLC, which owns the Ocean Plaza shopping center.

Ocean Plaza, one of the largest shopping centers in Kyiv, was transferred to state ownership following a decision of the National Security and Defense Council (NSDC). The owners of a share of the complex were Russian businessmen who were subject to sanctions.

The state nationalized the assets and transferred the proceeds to the budget. According to the Ministry of Justice, this is just one example of the implementation of the policy of confiscation of property with ties to the aggressor country.

Where will UAH 1.2 billion be spent?

The funds will be used in the following key areas:

• Reconstruction of housing infrastructure damaged by the hostilities.
• Repair of roads and bridges necessary for logistics and economic development.
• Support for the energy sector, including the restoration of destroyed facilities.
• Assistance to the regions most affected by the war.

What do you know about Ocean Plaza?

Ocean Plaza opened in 2012 and quickly became one of the largest shopping centers in Ukraine. It was owned by a company associated with Russian businessmen.

A 66.65% stake in the authorized capital of Lybid Investment Union LLC was previously owned by Russian businessman Arkady Rotenberg.

The second major shareholder of Ocean Plaza is Andrey Ivanov’s Lanita Invest, which owns 33.5% of the mall.

After the outbreak of a full-scale war in February 2022, this asset came under scrutiny and was subsequently nationalized.

In March 2023, the HACC confiscated Ocean Plaza from Russian oligarchs Arkady and Igor Rotenberg. The state then received 100% of the authorized capital of Avangard-Vilarta LLC, registered in the name of Cyprus-based Ocean Plaza Project (Cyprus) Limited and Ethoder Investments Limited; as well as 66.65% of the authorized capital of Lybid Investment Union LLC.

In June 2023, the Cabinet of Ministers transferred to the SPF a 66.65% share in the authorized capital of Investment Union Lybid LLC, which owns the mall, for further privatization.

In June 2024, the Ministry of Justice decided to release Ocean Plaza from its debt to the Rothenbergs by imposing loan sanctions and collecting the rights of claim to the state’s revenue under a decision of the High Anti-Corruption Court.

The HACC allowed to confiscate a share of the Ocean Plaza shopping center from Russian oligarch Arkady Rotenberg, who is called a friend of Vladimir Putin.

As reported, the SPFU proposes to include the state-owned share of the capital’s Ocean Plaza shopping center in the list of large-scale privatization objects. The Fund will recommend the property for sale at an open auction in the Prozorro.Sale system with a starting price at the level of the book value of the state share for the last reporting (annual) period.

In April 2024, the State Property Fund, based on the results of the auction commission, determined the value of the state share of the Ocean Plaza shopping center at UAH 1.65 billion.