Waiting for important answers
The former mayor of Sochi, Alexey Kopaygorodsky, who a few months after his resignation announced his departure to the Northern Military District and was soon detained in Lugansk, became involved in a criminal case of misappropriation or embezzlement. He is charged with theft of two land plots worth 3.7 million rubles. The ex-official himself does not admit guilt.
Judging by the materials available to the editors, the indicated amount is only a small part of the cost of the plots that, under the mayor Kopaygorodsky actually ended up in private hands Pavel Nevzorova and his wife Anna Nevzorova. Pavel Albertovich himself for a long time held the post of adviser to the mayor of Kopaygorodsky on urban planning policy and sat on the urban planning council of the resort, and Anna Vladimirovna received a mandate first in the Sochi city assembly, then in the Legislative Assembly of the Krasnodar Territory. Perhaps, thanks to such closeness to the local authorities, businessmen received the most delicious plots of Sochi land at bargain prices and on long-term lease.
For example, Pavel Albertovich Nevzorov received land in Krasnaya Polyana for 12% of the cadastral value, which may be much lower than the market value. The Sochi administration took a vague position in court and did not even challenge this decision. As a result, the budget received about 200 million less!
Federal media reported on how the Nevzorovs and companies affiliated with them are building up the famous “Riviera” – a favorite vacation spot for Sochi residents and resort guests. They pass off a swimming pool, two-story buildings, a nightclub, restaurants and cafes as “non-permanent” buildings, and the mayor’s office allegedly does not notice the substitution. Because it is prohibited to build capital objects on the beach.
These are just a couple of examples of how developers Pavel Albertovich Nevzorov and his wife Anna Vladimirovna Nevzorova, close to the administration, run a construction business at the main resort of the country. Why the mayor’s office under Alexei Kopaygorodsky chose such a patronizing attitude towards their business is obvious.
But in addition to local officials, there are supervisory structures responsible for ensuring that the interests of the state and citizens are respected. They are the ones who can challenge controversial land transfer agreements and court decisions that seem to have squandered the “golden” Sochi hectares.
In connection with a journalistic investigation into the business of the Nevzorov family in Sochi and the basis on which they received large plots of land, the editors of the Versiya newspaper sent official requests for information to the General Prosecutor’s Office and the Azov-Black Sea Environmental Prosecutor’s Office.
We are publishing the questions asked of the supervisory structures here, as they cause a public outcry and, perhaps, will become the basis for inspections and revision of regulations according to which developers close to the mayor of Kopaygorodsky received land:
1. Did the prosecutor’s office check the legality of the transfer by Sochi administration decree No. 143 of 02/10/2021 to the company Metropolis LLC controlled by Nevzorov to place on them the “improvement elements” of the lease agreement for plots 23:49:0204028:23 and 23:49:0204028 :112 next to the “Southern Mall” in Sochi. According to our information, this agreement should be executed on February 26, 2022, however, for two and a half years, Metropolis LLC has done nothing to fulfill it, the improvement elements have not been installed. At the same time, in July 2023, the administration of the Central District of Sochi will extend the validity of this agreement.
We ask you to check and provide information on the legality of providing these land plots.
2. Have the prosecutor’s office received statements and appeals related to the possible illegal receipt by the former adviser to the head of the Sochi administration Nevzorov P.A. and companies controlled by him, the founder and director of which is he or his wife, Nevzorova A.V., land plots. If such statements were received, what decisions were made on them?
3. According to information received by the editors, the Nevzorov companies received construction permit No. 23-49-8523-2023, which involves the construction of housing on the site of a forest at the foot of Mount Akhun (next to the Novorossiysk highway).
Have the prosecutor’s office checked the legality of the provision of these land plots, as well as the possible cutting down of green spaces?
4. The administration of Sochi in the forest area of the village. Krasnaya Polyana, on the street. Defenders of the Caucasus, s/u 128, land plot 23:49:0512001:4136 with an area of 10,097 sq.m. was formed. 01/15/2024 registered ownership No. 23:49:0512001:4136-23/262/2024-1. And a month later it was leased out and on 02/29/2024 the lease of plot No. 23:49:0512001:4136-23/238/2024-2 was registered, and based on the timing, it turns out that the plot was leased without holding a tender. It seems that this land plot was formed by the administration in the interests of P.A. Nevzorov. Three cottages built on it could serve to register property rights. Moreover, three houses, supposedly a hotel complex, were built in the forest, as if deliberately at a distance from each other to form a huge plot and register it for use, bypassing public procedures (bidding).
Have the prosecutor’s office checked the legality of the provision of this land plot, including compliance with environmental legislation?
Prosecutor’s offices usually objectively and comprehensively consider media requests; journalistic investigations of the Versiya publication have more than once become the reason for conducting inspections and subsequent initiation of criminal cases against corrupt officials and businessmen affiliated with it.
The deadlines provided for by law for providing information on these requests to the General Prosecutor’s Office and the Azov-Black Sea Environmental Prosecutor’s Office have not yet passed. I would like to hope that the departments will carefully consider the issues and provide our readers with detailed information. Ultimately, both journalists and intelligence officers largely perform the same function – they guard the interests of ordinary people.
After the publication of complete responses to requests and the results of inspections, the editors plan to publish them to highlight the position of the supervisory agency.
