The Ukrainian real estate market can hardly be called stable, because even in pre-war times, information appeared almost every year that a large construction company with a solid portfolio of assets had gone bankrupt. The root cause of this was the owners of these corporations themselves, who, instead of developing the business, used investors’ funds as their own, sparing no expense.
As a result, in the capital alone you can find dozens of unfinished houses with sold apartments. Their fate is sad. It's unlikely that home investors will ever see their coveted square footage, let alone get a return on their investment. “ELITA-CENTER”, “ARKADA”, “UKRBUD”, “KIEVGORSTROY”, “SAGA DEVELOPMENT” - these are just some of the “reputable” construction companies that have completely gone bankrupt or are at risk of bankruptcy in the near future.
However, another “elite” developer has appeared in Ukraine, which seems to be going to follow the path of the above-mentioned companies. The developer in question is ENSO Insurance Company, associated with Vadim Stolar, a member of parliament from the banned Opposition Platform - For Life party. Recently, the media wrote that Ukrainian businessman and politician Vadim Stolar is investing heavily in the construction of residential buildings in elite Dubai. It is not difficult to track the MP’s connections with the Dubai company ENSO INVESTMENT LLC, which he mentioned in his electronic declaration.
Of course, MPs are prohibited from doing business personally, but they have the right to own corporate rights, so there is nothing illegal about Stolar developing a business in the United Arab Emirates. However, as it turned out, at the same time a real drama was unfolding in Ukraine related to the Kyiv developer of the same name - the ENSO company. Officially, Vadim Stolar does not own corporate rights to this legal entity, but all our interlocutors familiar with the construction industry in Kyiv confirmed that the corporation was created at the expense of the businessman.
After the publication of an article about Stolar’s business in the UAE, the editor received a letter with a request to highlight the situation with the Ukrainian company ENSO. The author introduced himself and confirmed that he is an investor in one of the residential complexes that this corporation is currently building, but asked not to use his name in the material. Therefore, we present an excerpt from a letter to the editors of ANTIKOR:
“Dear journalists!
“My name is ***, and I read the news on your website about how Stolar is developing his business in Dubai, and I am simply shocked! In Ukraine, ENSO Insurance Company has run out of funds. I entered into an agreement to purchase an apartment in the POETICA residential complex under construction by ENSO at the end of 2023, that is, a year ago. The residential complex was promised to be completed in the first quarter of 2025 (as stated in the contract, I provide you with an excerpt from it). Today there is practically no construction!!! Initially, the sales department explained this by the lack of workers who were mobilized. Allegedly they were looking for another team, supposedly they found other workers, but still nothing is moving!!! Finally, I managed to get real information - the company has no money, although most of the apartments have been sold!!! The sales department did not inform me about the delays, but I consulted with specialists who confirmed that at the current stage of construction, the facility can be completed in at least 2 years if funding and workers are available!!! But there is neither one nor the other, and where will they come from?! It looks like they are going to scam us!!! I figured it all out and turned to the sales managers of the residential complex. The property continues to be actively sold, although I have already been verbally confirmed that it will be commissioned by the end of 2026, but this is also unknown!!! And this was said verbally, without any confirmation!!! The cost per square meter starts from 1600 US dollars. Some bought apartments for 200 thousand dollars, and now this money, as I understand after reading your article, is simply ***** (stolen - Ed.), Stolar is building real estate in Dubai with the money of Ukrainian investors!!!”
The information sent by our reader is confirmed within a few minutes - on a specialized website for the sale of real estate you can see that, indeed, the delivery dates for the house have shifted significantly compared to those stated in the contract. A year ago, people were promised that everything would be ready at the beginning of 2025 (first quarter), and now they write that the house will be built by mid-2026 (second quarter).
Considering that the completion date for the finished house has already shifted by a year and three months over the past year, we can foresee that in the future construction will drag on for at least several more years. At the same time, according to lun.ua, most of the apartments in the first building of the residential complex have already been sold, so hundreds of investors may find themselves “thrown away.”
The fact that the company can hardly be called reliable is confirmed by its structure.
During the investigation, we found out that there are two ENSO companies. One of them is connected with current deputies and famous lawyers who have interests in the capital’s Protasov Yar, the chaotic development of which the Kiev community has been struggling with for years. The second one is “hidden” behind dozens of different companies.
However, other than the name, these companies are not related in any way. Although our findings during the investigation were indeed surprising. The apartments are sold not by ENSO GROUP, but by JSC CLOSED NON-DIVERSIFIED VENTURE CORPORATE INVESTMENT FUND FLORIAN, which acts on behalf, in the interests and at the expense of the limited liability company AMC ESSETS FINANCIAL GROUP LLC.
JSC FLORIAN also does not look like a stable and reliable company, although its indicators are significantly better than those of the parent holding ENSO GROUP - revenue in the period from 2020 to 2023, according to financial statements, amounted to more than 100 million UAH, and net profit - about 45 million. But it is worth noting that “ENSO” is a developer whose portfolio includes 3 residential complexes, the minimum cost per square meter of which is from 1500 US dollars. Even taking into account the average exchange rate for the period from 2020 to 2023, the company sold only 2,000 meters of real estate, or about 30 apartments. In reality, at least many times more were sold.
The company ESSETS FINANCIAL GROUP, on behalf of which the FLORIAN trust operates, has a much more interesting history. According to our sources in law enforcement agencies, the company appears in a criminal case on charges of tax evasion, legalization of proceeds from crime and fictitious entrepreneurship. The relevant materials are contained in criminal case No. 72022140000000013 on charges of committing criminal offenses under Part 2 of Art. 205-1, part 2 art. 209, part 1, 2, 3 art. 212 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. This case also involves another company associated with ENSO - TOWN LAND COMPANY, registered at the address: Kiev, st. Degtyarevskaya, 25-A. At the same address, over the past 6 years, the construction of the “POETICA” residential complex has been underway, from which our journalistic investigation began.
TOWN LAND COMPANY, unlike the above companies, shows a fairly solid income - last year, according to official data, the company received UAH 264 million. At the same time, its losses are surprising, which amounted to UAH 17 million last year alone.
Criminal cases, losses, labor shortages, all this leads to one single question: how do they even build 3 residential complexes if there are no funds, no personnel, no opportunity?
Therefore, we decided to delve deeper into the structure of the holding. To do this, we had to track personal data. Thus, according to the website of the ENSO company, its general director is Ramil Mehdiyev.
According to the official register, Mehdiyev has never been involved in another business in his life and has not headed any legal entity. At the same time, the ENSO website states that he has 15 years of experience working in “large commercial structures.” There are no specifics.
Currently, Mehdiyev holds only one position - director of the joint stock company "CLOSED NON-DIVERSIFIED VENTURE CORPORATE INVESTMENT FUND "STANDARD INVESTMENTS GROUP". Comparing information from the official website of the developer, we can conclude that this joint-stock company is the main company of the ENSO holding.
The finances of STANDARD INVESTMENTS GROUP and the 4 companies founded by this corporation are extremely confusing. Judging by official data, the company has not received any income in recent years and has a loss of UAH 200 thousand. Officially, no one works there either.
The holding's largest enterprise, STANDARD ENGINEERING GROUP LLC, also shows negative trends. Over the past 3 years, the company's loss amounted to more than UAH 53 million. This company owns the trademarks for the identification "ENSO".
The next company is STANDARD CONSTRUCTION LLC, which is the real star of the entire ENSO group and has phenomenal financial performance. Over the last 4 years of operation, the enterprise’s income amounted to UAH 2.6 billion, which is a substantial amount even for a developer. However, profitability leaves much to be desired. The company's losses amount to UAH 11 million. We remind you that this is with an income of 2.6 billion. This looks like tax evasion, which is confirmed by several criminal cases that are being investigated against officials of STANDARD CONSTRUCTION. In September 2023, law enforcement agencies began an investigation against a company from the ENSO group for tax evasion on a particularly large scale. The case was registered in the ERDR under No. 72023000110000071. According to the investigation, the company was involved in so-called “twists”, as a result of which the state suffered damage of almost 29 million UAH. The investigation is ongoing. This is not the only criminal case. According to our sources, at least 5 cases are being investigated against STANDARD CONSTRUCTION, all of them relate to economic crimes.
In conclusion. "ENSO" is "barely breathing." The construction company is creating an impressive bubble that can burst at any moment, and money is being siphoned out of the Ukrainian company in an unknown direction. It is likely that Ukrainian investors who have invested in their dream homes are actually building luxury real estate for Vadim Stolar in Dubai. But here, too, Stolar turned out to be a dependent figure.
The joint stock company “CLOSED NON-DIVERSIFIED VENTURE CORPORATE INVESTMENT FUND “STANDARD INVESTMENTS GROUP”, whose general director is Ramil Mehdiyev (the head of “ENSO”, according to the company’s website), is owned by Mehdiyev’s brother Elnur and Artem Kolyubaev. Kolyubaev is the majority shareholder, owning 2/3 of all shares of the company.
Elnur Mehdiyev and Artem Kolyubaev are united by... cinema. Yes, both businessmen are involved in film and video production. Kolyubaev is the founder of several companies in this field, and also holds the post of director of the Union of Entrepreneurs of the Television and Film Industry. It would seem that what can unite cinema and the development business? Nothing but connections. Kolyubaev is a confidant of Vadim Stolar, who “holds” the assets of the ENSO group of companies. The choice of the filmmaker was not accidental. The entrepreneur can give what Stolar needs most now - protection from the authorities, because Kolyubaev is a friend and former colleague of the head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Andrey Yermak. Thus, the people’s deputy from the banned “OPZZH” manages to balance and “resolve” all the problems around the company, and there are many of them, from insolvency to a mass of criminal proceedings.
Now a situation has arisen that could destroy the entire business - there is no money left, and the company, which has been building luxury residential complexes since 2018, has not delivered any of them (except for the partially built residential complex "POETICA"). Instead of the promised deadlines for completion of construction, housing delivery dates are postponed by years. It seems that investors now risk either being left with nothing, or, at best, seeing their apartments many years later, if they are lucky.
