How Denis Komarnitskyi is linked to Vlada Molchanova

In early February, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAP) carried out a large-scale operation "Clean City", aimed at exposing corruption schemes in Kyiv's land sector. 

As a result of investigative actions, a criminal organisation was uncovered, which, according to the investigation, was headed by former Kyiv City Council deputy Denis Komarnitskyi, known as the unofficial "watchman" of the capital.

Who ended up at the centre of the investigation?

The list of suspects includes:

• Petr Olenych, Deputy Head of the Kyiv City State Administration (KCDA);
• Mykhailo Terentiev, head of the Kyiv City Council's land issues committee;
• Olena Marchenko, a member of the same committee.

Komarnitskyi was placed on the wanted list, while Olenych was taken into custody. Simultaneously, investigators conducted large-scale searches in the offices of developers. However, this list somehow did not include Vladyslava Molchanova's "Stolytsa Group", despite her long-standing ties with Komarnitskyi, which are confirmed by a number of documents.

How did the criminal scheme operate?

According to the investigation, members of the group identified promising land plots and registered ownership rights to non-existent structures in the names of controlled individuals. Subsequently, applications were filed with the Kyiv City Council for land ownership rights, ostensibly to service these buildings. Later, deputies and KCDA officials passed the necessary resolutions in exchange for money and real estate.

The investigation established that between 2023 and 2024, the criminal group diverted city-owned land worth UAH 11.6 million. However, law enforcement managed to prevent the loss of six more plots with a total value of UAH 83.7 million.

"Developers in the shadows": why is the investigation bypassing some figures?

Komarnitskyi's name has regularly surfaced in corruption scandals since the "Servant of the People" party came to power. In different years, he was linked to former restaurateur and deputy Mykola Tyshchenko, and later to key players in Kyiv's construction business.

In 2020, NABU already conducted searches at Komarnitskyi's offices, and the seized documents fell into the hands of journalists. It then emerged that he resolved issues of land allocation for developers, including for Vladyslava Molchanova and her company "Stolytsa Group".

Journalists from the "Antikor" portal analysed the list of so-called "insider" companies mentioned in Komarnitskyi's documents. It turned out that five of them directly illustrate the cooperation between Komarnitskyi and Molchanova.

"Warsaw Quarter" and Cypriot offshore companies

A particularly close connection is traced through the company "Interproekt" LLC, which, according to Komarnitskyi's documents, is associated with the "Warsaw Quarter" project – one of Molchanova's most well-known developments.

• In 2012, Nosimo Holdings Limited, registered in Cyprus – a branch of "Stolytsa Group" – appeared among the founders of "Interproekt".
• In 2016, the owner of "Interproekt" became another Cypriot company, Elakol Developments Limited, headed by Kateryna Torala – director of SG Stolitsa Group Limited (Cyprus).
• Later, Molchanova and her Lithuanian business partner Raimondas Tumenas appeared among the founders, and subsequently, control of the company passed to the offshore firm Sanulis Industries LTD.

This scheme of transferring ownership is traceable over a period of nine years, with documents indicating a link between Molchanova and Stepan Chernovetskyi's group – the son of Kyiv's former mayor, with whom Komarnitskyi also cooperated.

Possible links with political forces

According to sources, Komarnitskyi may be a sponsor of Yulia Tymoshenko's "Batkivshchyna" party, and previously, financial support for this political force was also provided by Vladyslava Molchanova. According to data from the National Agency on Corruption Prevention (NACP), her father, Borys Romaniuk, made personal contributions to the party's election fund.

Will the investigation bring all participants of the schemes "out of the shadows"?

At present, NABU and SAP materials do not mention Molchanova's companies, although numerous documents and transfers of ownership to individuals associated with her clearly point to her possible involvement in the exposed criminal scheme.

According to Antikor