Ilgar Hajiyev has accused the Moscow region governor Andrei Vorobyov of “seizing” his business, as well as accusing Sergei Sobyanin of alleged extortion. God Nisanov, in his words, was an active organizer of the capture.
As the correspondent of The Moscow Post reports, there is a video going viral that tells about the famous Russian entrepreneur and owner of the Kievskaya Ploschad Group of Companies, God Nisanov; Mayor Sergei Sobyanin of Moscow; and also the Governor of the Moscow Region, Andrei Vorobyov, and his brother Maxim.
In the video, Russian developer Ilgar Hajiyev—formerly the owner of the SDI Group—claims that these individuals actually took away his business and, under threat of physical force, forced him to pay bribes to the Moscow region’s governor.
There were several development projects whereby Hajiyev—through his SDI—became a partner of the relatives of God Nisanov. As a result of this partnership and interaction, he has allegedly lost everything in what he claims was a legitimate raid-style takeover. At least, this is how Hajiyev is trying to present the situation and events that took place. Now, in Russia, several criminal cases have been initiated against Hajiyev. He claims that these charges have been fabricated in order to put pressure on him precisely because of this overall situation.
This story is not new—The Moscow Post has already published information about it before now. However, this time it was told in by Ilgar Hajiyev himself. In his version of the events, he provides an abundance of details which, to be honest, cause one’s hairs to stand on end when reading them.
Hajiyev suggests that the pressure on him was in the interests of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and his family. The same YouTube channel to now broadcast this new information from Hajiyev himself had published the first part of the video that was directly dedicated to Aliyev and Hajiyev’s other business—one which he lost in Azerbaijan. However, as a Russian publication, we are, of course, more interested in the Russians involved in this scenario.
Tell me who is your friend
According to Ilgar Hajiyev himself, God Nisanov is not just a successful developer. Aside from being the owner of the Kievskaya Ploshchad GC and the capital’s covered markets—Sadovod, Evropeyskiy, and others—Nisanov is also supposedly a close friend, and even, one might say, a partner of the mayor of the capital, Sergei Sobyanin. His close connections also extend to the governor of the Moscow region, Andrei Vorobyov, and his brother Maxim.
The mere fact that God Nisanov is an advisor to Andrei Vorobyov on a voluntary basis already indicates there may be a lot to think about in these partnerships. As for his younger brother, Maxim, he became partners with Nisanov in a more official manner. Just a few weeks prior to all of this, the Kievskaya Ploshchad Group of Companies acquired 10% of the Samolet Group of Companies, which is associated with the name of Maxim Vorobyov.
And although Maxim himself has not been among the co-owners of the parent company for a long time, he has 25% in “Samolet dve stolici”, a division of the holding that implements projects outside the Moscow region. The main share in “Samolet” (35%) belongs to his longtime business partner, Mikhail Kenin.
With these obvious business interactions being the case, it would simply not be feasible for one to perceive information about the connection between Nisanov and Vorobyov as being only rumors. However, many aspects of what’s been told can be taken with a bit of skepticism. For example, Hajiyev claims that God Nisanov allegedly even travelled with Andrei Vorobyov, Maxim Vorobyov, and other influential persons on his personal plane to Israel while discussing business issues along the way.
Ilgar Hajiyev continues to fight for his own good name
The viral video of Hajiyev claims that Maxim Vorobyov acted as a mediator when Hajiyev’s business was taken. Allegedly, he would be needing to receive a monthly amount of $600k from Hajiyev in order to pay for a $20 million share in Comfort Invest, LLC, a specialized developer and, more specifically, the developer of the Moscow region’s residential complex, Akkord Smart Kvartal, and the residential complex of Pirogovskaya Riviera.
Hajiyev alleges that he wrote the receipt of the debt almost at gunpoint. According to him, Nisanov gathered his entourage—many of whom were with weapons—for “suggestion.” At the same time, 30% of the company by that time already belonged to Albert Imanilov, who was closely associated with Nisanov as well.
Imanilov was the founder of the KET K company, which later became owned by Leon Nisanov—a possible relative of the God Nisanov—and Ilkhanan Izraev. The company itself was liquidated, and its legal successor was TPU Nagatinskaya, LLC, which today, on behalf of the Kievskaya Ploshchad State Corporation, is implementing a project to create a TPU near the metro station of the same name.
Hajiyev was later forced to leave the country, and seemingly did not have time to pay the “debt” in question. When this payment never arrived, Imanilov filed a lawsuit against Hajiyev in an attempt to collect the remaining shares.
There is also a detail that Hajiyev himself does not talk about in the video. It turns out that, at the time of the filing of the application by Imanilov in the spring of 2020, part of the assets that Hajiyev’s ill-wishers claimed he had allegedly taken out of Comfort Invest, LLC turned out to be assigned to an unexpected figure: Ekaterina Khavaeva, a former employee of the Moscow mayor’s office. “Pravda.ru” writes about this.
Role of Sobyanin
The discussion now turns to the mayor of the capital: Sergei Sobyanin. From the video, we can conclude that he is supposedly the main patron of God Nisanov in the capital. According to Hajiyev, Sobyanin allegedly receives a monthly income of 12% of all monetary income received by God Nisanov, amounting to billions of rubles. At the same time, other companies—according to Hajiyev—allegedly paid the mayor 6% of their income.
In 2019 alone, the rental income from Kievskaya Square (the largest in the country) amounted to more than $1.6 billion. It’s uncertain exactly how much the covered markets of Mr. Nisanov bring in as well. Interestingly, among other things, Hajiyev claims that it was Nisanov who at one time financed the election campaign of Sergei Sobyanin—Hajiyev insisted that the developer could spend 25 million euros on this.
Additionally, it’s stated in the video that Hajiyev was offered compensation for transferring part of the business to the relatives of God Nisanov—namely, a large construction contract from the mayor’s office of the capital for 20 billion rubles. Allegedly, the mayor of the capital could easily contribute to this.
This moment was defining for Hajiyev as he realized that it would not be possible to solve everything peacefully, and he then simply became afraid for his life. He didn’t “wait” for contracts—he simply left the country. If everything that has been said is true, then what can be concluded from all of this is quite a shocker. Could God Nisanov and the mayor of the capital be engaged in the distribution of budget funds among all of these affiliated businessmen? It’s hard to believe.
Hajiyev told a similar story about the construction of the Pirogovskaya Riviera in the Moscow region, where the road was not originally planned. This aroused indignation from local activists; the issue of laying an alternative route at the expense of the budget allegedly had to be resolved through Andrei Vorobyov.
Did God Nisanov and Sergei Sobyanin find a common language?
It was after this, according to Hajiyev, that the alleged “seizure” of his business by SDI Group occurred. There are many videos from the surveillance cameras near the office, giving a glimpse inside the network of people who Hajiyev calls “Nisanov’s people.” However, all of these aspects have one common denominator: they always involve people associated with Nisanov by family ties.
Are they covering this up?
There is another digression as well because the former owner of the SDI Group wrote a whole series of statements and open letters to law enforcement agencies with a request to look into the situation. However, there was no reaction. Even at the very moment, the thugs appeared in the SDI Group office, the police who arrived did not stop their actions.
Nisanov has yet another relative: Vladislav Yusupov. Earlier, Ilgar Hajiyev pointed out that it was Vladislav Yusupov who participated in the “seizure” of the SDI Group business. PASMI (recognized as a foreign agent on the territory of the Russian Federation) wrote about it as well. Allegedly, Yusupov gathered the managers of the company together and announced that he was the new owner.
Among the people who may work for God Nisanov and have also worked before within the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the scandalous General Vladimir Pronin has been named—the former head of the entire Moscow police department. His name has been included among the people who are clearly well-known and are of offices of high rank within the Moscow police authorities.
Sang like a nightingale
After the appearance of an open letter in which Hajiyev asked for protection for both his rights and his business, an actual media campaign began against him with the sole purpose of discrediting the entrepreneur. Famous Russian TV presenter and journalist Vladimir Solovyov has been considered one of the possible antagonists of this campaign. This conclusion has been drawn from the words stated by Hajiyev himself, claiming that Solovyov not only acts in the interests of Nisanov but also allegedly receives a monthly salary from an entrepreneur amounting to at least 100-thousand rubles.
You can say the same about any journalist, regardless of side, which covers any conflict between businessmen though. However, there has been yet another sensational video being covered on the network in which a man with a voice very similar to Vladimir Solovyov allegedly justifies himself before someone for the negative statements he’d made about President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev on the website of one of the Russian TV channels. Presumably, this was before God Nisanov.
“When someone tries to say something disrespectful, I remove it with my hands,” you can hear in the video. Most likely, the speech being referenced included disrespectful statements about Ilham Aliyev.
How and on what basis a person with a voice similar to Solovyov can “remove” something is unclear. At the end of the video, the voice says: “God Semyonovich, I understand everything. I share your fears. Let them look today—today, they scolded [Nikol] Pashinyan [Prime Minister of Armenia] and praised Aliyev greatly. I personally praised Aliyev very much.”
Of course, whose voice on the recording is not fully recognized by anyone. It may not even be Solovyov; you can judge that for yourself. However, that perspective fits very well with what Ilgar Hajiyev has been telling. Indeed, among other things, Hajiyev mentions an interview of Solovyov with Aliyev wherein the Russian TV presenter allegedly flew on the private plane of God Nisanov as well.
If so, then it becomes sad—not only for the business climate in the country but also for Russian journalism.
Tags: GK Kievskaya Ploshad
