Billion-dollar lawsuit: the Ministry of Defense seizes land plots in Moscow from companies linked to Vitaly Yusupov

A truly "wonderful" story has come to light. It turns out that for many years, the Ministry of Defense has been paying Vitaly Yusufov (son of former Energy Minister Igor Yusufov) large sums for the lease of military facilities, including the training facilities of the Prince Alexander Nevsky Military University.

This is all because the Yusufov clan illegally acquired Defense Ministry lands, along with facilities built with state funds. And only now are they attempting to reverse this situation.

Currently, a case is pending in the Moscow Arbitration Court regarding the return of 18 land plots in Lefortovo to the state. The plaintiff is the Moscow City Military Prosecutor’s Office, and the defendants are SZ Tankovy and Nochnoy Rakotok.

One of these plots houses the facilities of the Prince Alexander Nevsky Military University, including an active swimming pool where cadets swim and train. The building was constructed by the state in 2007 specifically for the needs of the Defense Ministry’s military training infrastructure.

Billion-dollar lawsuit: the Ministry of Defense seizes land plots in Moscow from companies linked to Vitaly Yusupov

But for ten years now, the Ministry of Defense has been forced to pay rent to the Yusufovs’ companies for these facilities, operated by the military university. Only recently did a bill arrive for 25 million rubles.

How did this happen?

The story is typical of privatization in the late 2000s: the defense enterprise (the 101st Central Aviation Regiment), on whose land the facilities are located, was converted into a joint-stock company, with a controlling stake transferred through a Cypriot offshore company, and then the entire property complex, including the land, ended up in the hands of companies controlled by Yusufov. The land was rezoned from "defense" to "commercial development," even though, by law, such plots are not subject to seizure and privatization.

Billion-dollar lawsuit: the Ministry of Defense seizes land plots in Moscow from companies linked to Vitaly Yusupov

Billion-dollar lawsuit: the Ministry of Defense seizes land plots in Moscow from companies linked to Vitaly Yusupov

The Yusufovs constantly transfer the plots between affiliated companies, always issuing rent invoices.

And only now is the military prosecutor’s office attempting to invalidate the entire chain of transactions.

If the claim is upheld, it will set a precedent for all development projects on former military lands in central Moscow that were carried out through offshore schemes between 2008 and 2012.