Photo ©

Forpost obtained photos and videos of the interior of the buildings of the notorious residential complex.

In early April, a group of shareholders who had invested money in the largest long-term construction project in the Leningrad region snuck into the construction site, which had been standing for more than two years, in order to look at their “apartments.” The picture that appeared before their eyes shocked people and revived the desire to get an answer to two original Russian questions: “who is to blame?” and “what should I do?”

The authorities of the Leningrad region are also trying to find an answer to the second question. Moreover, on a global scale, and not just in relation to the “Forces of Nature”. Thus, at the end of March, Deputy Chairman of the regional government Mikhail Moskvin said that in the near future the regional administration plans to conclude agreements with the developers of problematic buildings on the completion of long-term construction.

“We will provide any organizational support to the developer, meet him halfway and make concessions where possible within the framework of the law. But the developer and shareholders must understand that the authorities cannot provide financial assistance, give state guarantees for loans to developers and oblige resource-supplying organizations to connect their houses for free,” noted Mikhail Moskvin.

The developer of the Forces of Nature residential complex notified shareholders about the results of the meeting with the heads of Absolut Bank and Baltinvestbank. According to the official VKontakte group of the residential quarter, “a decision was made to open a credit line for the completion of the Forces of Nature residential complex.”

Cooperation agreements will be sent to such companies or their subsidiaries as Norman, Navis, O2 Development, Glavstoykompleks, Leader Group, Lenspetsstroy. The document will determine the responsibilities of the parties for the commissioning of facilities, the timing of their commissioning and the required amount of financing for the work.

There is no doubt that such an initiative is needed. According to information from unofficial sources, there are more than eight thousand defrauded shareholders in the region. The official figures are, of course, much more modest. At the end of last year, for example, just over a thousand citizens were included in the register of affected participants in shared construction. Moreover, the authorities then hastened to report that their number had decreased by almost three hundred people over the last three months.

Shareholders of the notorious long-term construction “Forces of Nature” in Murino received hope. They were promised that they would take the unfinished houses seriously. Leningrad Region Governor Alexander Drozdenko and his deputies are rushing to the rescue. The issue price is 950 million rubles.

The defrauded investors themselves view such juggling with numbers with a fair amount of sarcasm. After all, the residential complex “Forces of Nature” alone managed to conclude 2,666 contracts. The developer promised to deliver the first phase, consisting of two buildings and designed for 1,850 apartments, at the end of 2014. The second, with almost 2,000 apartments, will be launched at the beginning of 2015. But, apparently, something went wrong, and people were left without real estate. And without money, of course.

Since then they have been fed with promises. The shareholders received the last portion quite recently - the developer agreed to let them go to the construction site on April 10 to assess the volume of work performed. True, not everyone. The debate about how many people who are not “loyal” to the developer have the right to look at “their home” went on for quite some time. One side insisted on the number 14, the other - that seven people would be enough. However, these conversations had exactly the same relation to reality as all previous promises. Shortly before hour “X” it became known that everything had changed and officially no one would be able to get to the construction site.

“We made our way in unofficially. What they saw was horrifying. The plaster layer, gypsum particle boards, gypsum blocks, and concrete floors are torn apart by water from the inside. Freezing and expanding in winter, it destroys buildings and is absorbed into the mineral wool of exterior panels and other building materials. As a result, mold and mildew have already appeared in the apartments. All these years we have been observing the deliberate destruction by the developer of property for which they paid a lot of money! A normal company, which actually plans to build and deliver houses, spends billions of other people’s money on finishing work, including “its own 632 million,” would allow this?” - asks Nikolai, one of those who once bought an apartment in the Forces of Nature residential complex.

The developer, apparently, is not taking any action to stop the destruction. “And so it will do,” as another famous builder from the cartoon of the same name once said. But is it possible to complete these buildings? Perhaps the answer to this question is much more relevant than all the previous ones. Here we are no longer talking about philosophy, justice, or even the potential punishment of the perpetrators, but about basic security.

It is difficult, without being a lawyer, to understand the intricacies of the current situation. To understand who is really to blame and why the initiators of this construction are still at large? Where to find a new investor, rumors about whose appearance periodically arise, instilling hope in shareholders, but always turn out to be “fake”? Who benefits from the court's decision, which declared the Murinskoye-1 residential complex bankrupt, but postponed the bankruptcy case of Romantika LLC, the second developer of the Forces of Nature residential complex?

Only one thing is clear. Refusal of shared housing construction and transition to a project financing mechanism with the participation of banks is the only sure way that will allow the country to forever get rid of such a shameful phenomenon as defrauded shareholders. Another thing is that this will no longer help people who bought apartments in “Forces of Nature”. But it’s still quite difficult to say who will help them.

2,666 shareholders and equity holders cannot move into their apartments.

A new page has opened in the history of one of the most problematic long-term construction projects in St. Petersburg and the Leningrad region, the Forces of Nature residential complex. On June 1, the RR-City company, a new developer of the residential complex, promises to begin work on commissioning two residential complex buildings. Karpovka figured out why the company needed to get involved with one of the most famous long-term construction companies in the region and what shareholders and equity holders think about this.

Five years of struggle

Construction of the Forces of Nature residential complex in Murino began back in 2012. The developer was the O2 Development company, which promised to put the first stage of the residential complex into operation in December 2014. Initially it was planned to build 21 residential buildings with a height of 10 to 18 floors. However, later the large-scale plans were cut down, and O2 settled on the “economy option” - four buildings and two stages of construction. However, 2,666 shareholders and shareholders are still waiting for their apartments.

The initial reason for the delay was the developer’s burning desire to connect the houses not to the central, but to the local water supply and sewerage system. However, the authorities of the Leningrad region opposed O2. They tried to put the problematic long-term construction on the shoulders of the Okhta Group Vladimir Svinin and the ex-co-owner of Baltinvestbank Yuri Rydnik, but each time the attempts failed.

Interest holders and shareholders of long-term construction showed incredible activity. In 2016, they held 30 pickets, two rallies, one tent camp, and even blocked a regional highway. Plans for self-immolation on Red Square were also discussed, but only two people discussed this dangerous idea. In April 2017, shareholders lined up in front of the president’s reception on Vasilyevsky Island and en masse submitted applications to the head of state asking him to pay attention to the situation with the long-term construction, which at that time had already celebrated its five-year anniversary.

And the situation has changed: on April 28 of this year it is known that the RR-City company will complete the construction of the Forces of Nature residential complex, and O2 Development is retiring. The decision on the long-term construction was made at the regional level - the situation was personally resolved by the Governor of the Leningrad Region, Alexander Drozdenko, and the vice-governor of the 47th region, Mikhail Moskvin, supervised the process. RR-City promised a two billion ruble loan from Baltinvestbank for construction work, and agreed with Murino Management Company to connect new buildings to utility networks.

Two billion discord

However, as of the end of May, no construction work is taking place in the fenced area. The stumbling block was the notorious two billion rubles. The fact is that they have not yet been allocated to RR-City, and without this money the company is in no hurry to make efforts, which irritates the shareholders, who for five years have already studied every square centimeter of the territory where their future home should appear.

« Audit currently underway, - the press service of Baltinvestbank told the Karpovka correspondent, - this is a long procedure, because a construction organization is a very complex project. And so the preliminary decision has already been agreed upon.”

RR-City also assures that the work will begin on time and advises not to take the mood of shareholders seriously, since people are already desperate to move into their apartments and perceive the slightest delay as a failure of the entire project. " We are now finishing the preparatory work, and on June 1 we will begin construction. There are four buildings there, all construction will be completed on time. We have not yet been allocated money, but this will happen in the near future. Shareholders need to calm down, everything will be as planned with the project“, - emphasized the head of the “Forces of Nature” project Alexander Leonov.

By the way, according to Mikhail Moskvin, RR-City was offered a small gift for completing the long-term construction project. The land plot on which the Forces of Nature residential complex is being built is adjacent to 23 hectares of land owned by Baltinvestbank. They will also be given to the developer, and construction on this land, the price of which is about 1.2 billion rubles, will become a source of commercial profit for the company. However, the land for RR-City has not yet been allocated, and the bureaucratic processes at Baltinvestbank have not yet been completed. However, Leonov assures: these 23 hectares of land are in no way connected with the construction of the Forces of Nature residential complex, and the long-term construction will definitely be completed. Even if the land is suddenly not allocated.

RR City is in no hurry to reveal plans for the “golden” hectares. But the company can make a profit in two options: the construction of commercial or business real estate or the construction of housing. Social facilities will not bring any income to businessmen, but the government of the Leningrad region insists on their appearance on the allocated territory.

What shareholders say

Shareholders and shareholders of the Forces of Nature residential complex do not share the optimism of Baltinvestbank and RR-City. They are with undisguised joy at the news that a criminal case has been opened against unidentified persons from O2 under the article “Fraud,” but are in no hurry to draw conclusions about RR City.

While some shareholders can still hope to someday move into their homes, others certainly won’t. For example, Alexey, who purchased a non-existent apartment in the planned fourth phase of the project three years ago.

« In 2014, I bought a studio in “Forces of Nature”. The salesman described super-fast construction technology and said that by the end of 2015 the fourth building will be completed. The contract was concluded with the Murinskoye-1 housing cooperative, but in 2016 construction did not begin. At the site of the fourth building, the pit remained as it was; the cranes were dismantled from the third building. It became clear that construction had completely stopped. I decided to try to take the money through the court by invalidating the contract. The O2 lawyer suggested concluding a settlement agreement, under the terms of which I would waive the penalty for using the money, but the entire amount of the share would be paid to me in two months. I agreed and was deceived a second time, not a penny was paid to me.

I brought my writ of execution for the amount of the share to the bailiff, and there were already 50 million rubles worth of them. As a result, over the entire period we managed to write off about 13 thousand rubles. Now they promise that the facility will be completed by RR-City, but they directly said that they do not intend to pay money under writs of execution. As a result, I have neither the right to an apartment nor money, and there are already more than a hundred people like me. You have to pay a mortgage for air. Apartments in buildings 1 and 2 have already been almost all sold, but there are only boxes standing there without water, sewerage, electricity or interior decoration. And RR-City is still coordinating everything about joining the project.”, - said Alexey, a shareholder of the Forces of Nature residential complex.

Housing cooperative "Murinskoye-1" is part of the "O2" group, but is a separate legal entity. Since share participation agreements were concluded specifically with housing cooperatives, shareholders and shareholders are demanding money from this company. However, no property, except for a small plot of land, is registered with the housing cooperative, so the shareholders find themselves in a difficult situation: the most they can achieve is declaring the housing cooperative bankrupt. However, the courts have been going on since March and so far no outcome (positive or negative for clients) is visible. And RR-City is not eager to pay the debts of the previous developer.

Maria’s story, on the contrary, is typical of Forces of Nature shareholders.

« I am the mother of a shareholder. Before retiring, we collected all the money we could and gave it to our daughter, who bought an apartment from scammers. I asked her not to do this, but she believed that there were many shareholders, the construction site was large, and she did it her way. As a result of the construction: no documents were signed, no money, no loan. Since March, everything has been postponed for two weeks, although they promised to start construction in March. I don’t believe that they will complete the construction, although Drozdenko personally controls this construction. The mood is zero, and the belief that our daughter will get her own apartment is one percent"- Maria shared.

According to shareholder Olga, she called RR-City and received an answer that construction would begin after the agreement with the bank was signed. At the same time, representatives of the developer swore to the editors that construction would begin on June 1. In other words, the faith in the future of 2,666 shareholders and equity holders so far rests on one word - an audit, after which two billion rubles will have to solve the problem of five-year long construction.

Vasily Makagonov

Alexey Bagin, a journalist for Channel 78, was not afraid to go against the system and call unscrupulous developers and the officials who patronize them by their proper names. Colleagues joined him, thoroughly analyzing the evidence and laws.

On September 2, Channel 78 talked about a rather dubious scheme for improving long-term construction. The O2 developer announced the appearance of a certain secret investor, a philanthropist, who expressed a desire to help people, and this is more than 2,000 families, complete the construction of their apartments in the Forces of Nature residential complex and the Romashki residential complex, but not for that, but for re-registering the land lease.

During the journalistic investigation, it turned out that the construction rescue scheme is very similar to a classic financial pyramid. This was immediately stated by the already deceived shareholders of the Forces of Nature. According to their information, the channel’s reporters began to promote this “dark” case. The day after the report aired, September 3, the press service of O2 Development released a very emotional statement, it said that the “secret investor” was offended by the investigation and, due to the actions of Channel 78 journalists, he was ready to abandon his intentions to resume the abandoned construction, shareholders may again be left without the promised housing, and columnist Alexey Bagin is to blame for all this.

However, the journalist was not afraid and openly expressed why the editors of Channel 78 and the shareholders of the O2 Development group suspect the company of inflating a new construction bubble. Alexey Bagin is accused of “unprecedented bias, which caused enormous damage to the reputation of the secret investor, which is why he may refuse to finance the project.” The logic, you see, is strange. When a company has 500 million rubles, no “biased” report will take it away, and the journalist will not hold the hands of the builders. But the law obliges the developer to be careful. Taking money from the previous object of the Forces of Nature residential complex for the completion of the new Romashki residential complex is prohibited, it falls under the criminal article - “Embezzlement”.
If the state finds out about such “co-financing”, it will freeze the construction and recognize the DDU agreements as illegal.
To avoid the law, resourceful and, as it turned out, touchy businessmen most likely came up with the “secret Count of Monte Cristo.”

In general, O2 Group is a rather curious company; its serious financial problems began back in 2013. Some construction had to be stopped. However, the company has not yet been officially declared bankrupt. In 2017, a criminal case was opened against the management of the company under the article “Fraud on an especially large scale.” But in spite of everything, time after time, orders for new construction or its continuation on the territory of Murino invariably end up in the hands of the company.
What or who is behind the incredible vitality of a company constantly teetering on the brink of collapse - financial success or some high-ranking patrons?
An interesting fact: the closest relative of the CEO of O2 Group, a well-known businessman in St. Petersburg, Sergei Mirochny, built the largest data center in Germany; the project required multi-million dollar investments in foreign currency. Perhaps the investments were our own, or perhaps attracted. For example, it is still unclear where 88 million rubles of the shareholders of the Forces of Nature were withdrawn from O2 accounts.

Alexey Bagin, channel 78

And the appearance of a new investor is confirmed by the regional government, but shareholders do not believe it. An NSP correspondent, together with a representative of the developer, toured four buildings that were not completed by O2 Development: two belong to the Forces of Nature residential complex, two belong to the Romashki residential complex.

Nature is waiting for March
The first building of the Forces of Nature residential complex is expected to be completed by the end of the year and begin issuing keys in March 2019. The second building is promised to be commissioned in the summer of 2019 (the keys will be delivered in August). The developer explains the fact that shareholders do not see active construction work on the second building (citizens take photographs of the construction site from a neighboring residential complex) by the fact that now most of the workers are focused on launching building 1. As the next stage of work, for example on electrical work, is completed, specialists move on to Pavilion 2.

In October, the start of work on landscaping the territory was announced. The ground is leveled, a preparatory mesh, “dornite” is laid, on top of which crushed stone will go. The improvement according to the plan will be completed by the beginning of December.

In addition, the first building is undergoing an inspection; the windows and walls are being re-insulated (this was required due to downtime at the construction site). Heating networks are being laid next to the second building (the buildings will be connected to OJSC Heating Networks of St. Petersburg). There are active negotiations on connecting water supply and sewerage with CJSC UNISTO (a division of UNISTO Petrostal), which has additional capacity. The second option is to connect to the networks of Management Company Murino. It is a spare one if the examination shows that the capacities of the UNISTO Petrostal company are still not enough to connect the “Forces of Nature” and “Daisies”.

A shopping center is planned on the territory of the residential complex, the frame of the building has already been erected, but for now the priority is residential buildings.

Finishing work is being completed in building 1, electricity is being supplied to the water metering unit, and arrangement of the main switchboard room is also underway.

The housing will be delivered with pre-finishing finishing. Doors to apartments, outlets for stoves, plumbing fixtures in bathrooms, and sockets were installed. Water meters are located in the corridor, electricity meters are located in the apartments. In some places, work on laying low-current electrical networks is being completed. On the second building, it remains to complete the finishing and lay some of the communications in order to connect them to the capacities of the Tridevyatkino Tsarstvo residential complex, making a “puncture” under the highway in Lavriki.

The company provided a complete list of work performed from May to September on both stages in a report sent to the regional government (a copy can be viewed at the end of the text).

In the residential complex "Romashki" they are finishing driving piles under the second building; in some areas the pile field has already been poured. The first building of the residential complex is being built by two cranes; there are fresh packages of aerated concrete blocks inside; work on the construction of internal partitions is beginning on some floors.

Mysterious investor
Anatoly Sobolev is managing the completion project. According to him, he represents a pool of investors. The owners of the unsold apartments are the official developers: the Romantika company and the Murinskoye-1 housing complex.

“I actually live here - until the end of construction I rented an apartment in a neighboring building,” says Mr. Sobolev. The construction headquarters - two modest trailers, a long table, ringing phones.

At the construction site, Mr. Sobolev clarifies, 80 people work. They deal with roofing, facades, masonry, waterproofing, landscaping, cleaning, and lifting building materials to the floors.

According to his estimates, about 3 billion rubles are needed to complete the projects: 2.5 billion for the Romashki residential complex, about 450 million rubles for the Forces of Nature. This roughly corresponds to the value of all unsold apartments. Mr. Sobolev explains the investor’s interest in this situation as follows: “Political capital and earned reputation.”

Currently, 2,606 shareholders are waiting for housing in two residential complexes. Hundreds of apartments in the first and second buildings of the Forces of Nature have not been sold. About 700 apartments have been sold in the Romashki residential complex. By the way, shareholders of this complex are offered housing in the first stages of the “Forces of Nature”, but with an additional payment for additional footage. About thirty buyers agreed. The planned commissioning date for both buildings of the Romashki residential complex is 2020.

The new unnamed investor does not undertake to pay penalties for late commissioning. These obligations remain with O2 Development. Apartments in the Romashki residential complex are currently not for sale due to the introduced monitoring procedure (the developer is challenging it in court).

According to Mr. Sobolev, he has normal relations with the majority of equity holders and shareholders. “We communicate constantly, many have my mobile phone, I received the last message yesterday at two in the morning, today we started communicating at six in the morning.”

The Forces of Nature residential complex is one of the oldest problematic long-term construction projects in Murino; work there stopped in 2015. In May 2018, O2 Group (formerly O2 Development) announced that it had found an investor (the regional government confirms this information). The company began completing the construction of two houses of the first stage of the Forces of Nature residential complex, and also began constructing two buildings of the second (now the object is called the Romashki residential complex). Who the investor is is not officially announced.

Most recently, the vice-governor of the region for construction Moskvin Leningrad region is located in Murino. We are talking about the brainchild of O2 Development called “Forces of Nature”. The keys to legitimate apartments have not been in the hands of almost 3,000 shareholders since 2014. the site contacted an anonymous representative communities of shareholders long-suffering complex and asked several important questions. The answers turned out to be very interesting.

The situation with the Forces of Nature residential complex, located in the vast Vsevolozhsk district of the Leningrad region, is indeed very difficult. This became clear largely not only thanks to Moskvin’s words, but also to the answers to questions that we asked a representative of the shareholder community, who wished to remain anonymous. From the conversation we extracted three main ideas: according to the anonymous author, there are no sensible mechanisms for solving it, most of the shareholders may end up with nothing, and people may begin to block regional routes. At the same time, a representative of the regional administration calls not to believe anonymous people and “voices from the Internet.”

The main sad numbers of “Forces of Nature”. Infographics website

How are things going with the new developer now? Is it known when he will take up his duties and, in fact, when the construction of the residential complex will continue?

At the meeting, our bankruptcy trustee Vadim Fedichev made a good forecast for the delivery of the first stage in the fourth quarter of 2018 - the first quarter of 2019, but this is at best. So far only at the level of forecasts and reflections. Unfortunately, they don’t provide us with any specifics. Everything will be resolved as problems arise. At the moment, there are no specific mechanisms for intercessors on the part of the Leningrad Region administration. As for the resumption of construction, while the bankruptcy process of the previous developer is ongoing, it will not happen, although it is possible and even necessary. It may seem that starting the bankruptcy process is good, but in fact it was done out of despair. We were promised that they would close the bankruptcy in the monitoring procedure as soon as the debts were paid off. If this promise is not fulfilled, then people will begin to protest again. And in a more severe form than before.

“Currently, the Directorate for Integrated Development of the Leningrad Region, on behalf of the regional administration, is providing comprehensive legal assistance to affected shareholders. As soon as specialists from the Leningrad Region AHML and employees of O2 Development, within the framework of the bankruptcy law, transfer the documentation for the project to the site, a technical examination of existing structures, the development of a new project, as well as preparations for the start of construction work will begin,” the Vice-Governor of the Leningrad Region for Construction told the site Mikhail Moskvin.

During all the time that has passed since the failure to meet deadlines, where and to whom did the shareholders complain, and what did they do to get at least some answers to their questions?

We repeatedly contacted the construction committee, the prosecutor's office, the administration of the Leningrad region, wrote directly to the Murino deputies... Simply put, wherever possible. We have received replies to letters a whole album - there are more than two dozen of them. There are more than two thousand shareholders, and they also regularly flood various authorities with letters. Only this, you understand, does not move things forward - it only emphasizes that people want to achieve what is rightfully theirs at any cost.

Letters and responses to shareholders from the prosecutor's office and other authorities

What about the regional administration? Do her representatives or the governor contact you directly to instruct and help resolve the issue?

Of course they get in touch. Moreover, both representatives of the administration and Alexander Yurievich Drozdenko himself. But only when they need us to stop our public protests. When we do not show protest activity, the administration and other responsible persons for some reason do not show any signs of life, or they do, but they are very weak.

What is the mood now among shareholders of “Forces of Nature” and in general, what thoughts and conversations are there about this whole situation?

The mood of shareholders is very wary, so to speak. The promises of the authorities are no longer fulfilled, there is no bankruptcy of the second legal entity - “Romantika”. A critical situation has arisen with the second stage, for which there are no forecasts at all and no one is able to give them. The management doesn't even know that it even exists. From this we can conclude that there are real risks that some people may be deceived and left without apartments altogether, as was the case with the Samoe Serdtse residential complex.

- And what will happen then?

If the negative forecasts are confirmed, then worse scenarios are possible - for example, an approximate repetition of the unrest in Kondopoga or Pikalevo, where mass popular protests took place and regional and federal highways were blocked. But even within the framework of the law, many problems can be caused, and we think everyone understands this, including officials. Fortunately, shareholders already have experience in conducting legal shares. Therefore, I hope that there will be no negative scenario. By the way, we were already offered to capture military units when Toksovskoye Highway was blocked. Fortunately, they didn’t do this then.

Unfinished high-rise buildings. Photo: Square

- What about the previous developer, O2 Development?

With great difficulty, we succeeded in initiating a criminal case, but the swindlers are still at large. By swindlers, as you understand, we mean the previous developer. There is generally a separate and very interesting story, which can only be retold briefly. The father-in-law of the head of the O2 Development company is the director of the Buborg company, which supplies state vehicle registration plates for the Ministry of Internal Affairs. It is clear that due to colossal pressure from above, the case was not promoted and, most likely, will be completely hushed up after some time. Maybe I'm wrong, but there is such a feeling. But, of course, we do not set ourselves the goal of punishing someone or taking revenge.

-What is your goal?

Our only goal is for everyone to get their rightful apartments for which money was paid.

The administration, by the way, refused to comment on the statements of an anonymous representative of the shareholder community with whom the site’s journalist spoke. This was stated by the press secretary of the deputy chairman of the Leningrad region government for construction.

“We do not comment on anonymous statements. The organizers and participants of the protests and the administrators of these groups issued powers of attorney for the management of their affairs in the bankruptcy procedure by a subsidiary of the Leningrad region government - the Directorate for the Integrated Development of the Region. They will receive legal assistance from the Leningrad region government free of charge, at the expense of the region’s taxpayers, and at the same time call on everyone to barricade against us..

Despite the fact that the site understands the horror of the situation around shareholders, it is possible and necessary to understand the position of the administration. It turns out that we now face two positions, each of which has a right to exist. We can only hope that the anonymous person’s worst predictions will not come true, and also continue to monitor the situation just as closely.