Finally! The first success in auctions for the sale of confiscated Russian assets

Two auctions for the sale of assets confiscated under sanctions were successfully completed. We are talking about the long-suffering apartments of Shelkov and Saldo.

On May 21, amidst ongoing air defense operations over Odesa, 11 private investors competed for the purchase of two confiscated apartments at auctions. Previously owned by collaborator Saldo and Russian oligarch Shelkov, those apartments in Odesa were confiscated and subsequently auctioned by the State Property Fund.

With no participants in the initial auction on April 17, expectations for subsequent auctions were tempered. But, in the end, both lots got their winners.

Only two bidders competed for the purchase of Shelkov’s former apartment. The winning bid at the auction exceeded the starting price by just over 6%, reaching UAH 4 million. The successful bidder was SIZE LTD, a local company primarily engaged in automobile sales. According to Prozorro.Sale, the company won the auction for the lease rights of a land plot in Cherkasy last August.

The competition for the second lot was considerably more vigorous. Nine investors participated in the auction, driving the starting price up by over 50%. The final offer, amounting to UAH 2.9 million, was made by a private individual named Radion Tymoshenko. Previously, as per Prozorro.Sale records, the same individual unsuccessfully attempted to buy the property complex of the Ivano-Frankivsk Research and Design Institute of Land Management. Additionally, an individual with precisely the same initials serves as the Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

Following the conclusion of the auctions, the State Property Fund is responsible for reviewing the applications of the winners, along with the accompanying documents and provided information. Should the winners adhere to the requirements of the legislation, they, along with the SPFU, are obligated to sign protocols on the results of the electronic auctions within 10 working days. Subsequently, within 30 working days, a sales contract must be executed and published. After that, the winners will have another 30 days to pay for the purchased assets.

The successful conclusion of the auctions for the sale of Shelkov’s and Saldo’s confiscated apartments marks the first achievement in the campaign to sell seized assets, initiated in the summer of last year. Furthermore, it serves as a positive signal for other investors to engage in similar auctions, a phenomenon notably absent throughout the entirety of last year. With over 1,300 objects already confiscated by the state, this event marks a crucial milestone in putting such properties to use for the benefit of Ukraine, covering the costs of its restoration. 

This publication was prepared by Transparency International Ukraine with the financial support of Sweden.