The Ministry of Justice of Ukraine filed a lawsuit to recover the assets of Arkady and Igor Rotenberg. People’s Deputy David Arakhamia wrote that Russian oligarchs are paying for the crimes of their country.
On Friday, March 3, the Ministry of Justice filed a lawsuit with the High Anti-Corruption Court (VAKS) to impose sanctions on Arkady and Igor Rotenberg. The press service of the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine announced the statement of claim for the recovery of their assets to state revenue.
In its lawsuit, the Ministry of Justice asks to recover 66.65% of the share capital of the Limited Liability Company “Investment Union “LIBID”, which is the ultimate beneficial owner of Ocean Plaza.
“Today, the High Anti-Corruption Court registered a lawsuit from the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine on the confiscation of assets of a friend of the Russian dictator Arkady Rotenberg and his son Igor,” David Arakhamia, head of the Servant of the People faction, said on social networks.
According to him, apart from the mall, the package includes apartments and land in the capital. The official is confident that the property will become the property of the state and will compensate for a share of the damage caused by the aggressor country.
“We warned that Russian oligarchs would pay for Russia’s crimes. This is already happening today. And so it will be in the future,” Arakhamia said.
background
The capital’s Ocean Plaza shopping center closed after a full-scale Russian invasion. Only a supermarket and a few shops on the ground floor were open. However, on July 25, 2022, Auchan announced the complete closure of the center.
According to Anton Gerashchenko, adviser to Interior Minister Anton Gerashchenko, the business “belongs to Putin’s friends, the Rotenberg brothers.” The former owner of a 33% stake in Ocean Plaza, Vasily Khmelnitsky, also said that a “Russian company” owned most of the shares. The businessman did not disclose details.
On August 9, 2022, Prosecutor General Andriy Kostin announced that the shopping and entertainment center was transferred to the management of the National Agency of Ukraine for the Search and Management of Assets Obtained from Corruption and Other Crimes (ARMA). The Attorney General did not specify the name, but in the context of the active discussions of Ocean Plaza, it was obvious. According to the official, among the ultimate beneficiary owners of the business were “Russian citizens from the close circle of the head of the aggressor country.”
On November 22, 2022, the mall started working. In honor of the opening, visitors were offered cinema tickets for 1 hryvnia.
Recall that on March 3, Russian journalists reported on the approach of problems with smartphones in the aggressor country. Citing its own sources, Russian media said that intermediaries from the Middle East began to refuse Russian distributors and retailers. This was led by the US ban on delivering gadgets worth more than $300 to Russia.
Earlier, on February 26, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, in his evening video message, announced the signing of decrees on new sanctions against the Russian Federation. These sanctions apply to those involved in the kidnapping of children or the maintenance of Russian mercenary structures, as well as representatives of Russian sports.
