Rotenberg billionaires seize control of Balaklava Bay

Main image: Aerial view of Balaklava Bay in Crimea, March 2024. Photo: Konstantin Mihalchevskiy / Sputnik / Profimedia

Billionaires Arkady and Boris Rotenberg, close associates of Russian President Vladimir Putin, have acquired at least 10 plots of land in Balaklava Bay in annexed Crimea over the past year and a half. These plots were seized from Ukrainian and local owners, according to Verstka.

They plan to build a large yacht marina on the acquired land. The initiative to construct a yacht marina in the bay was assigned by Vladimir Putin back in 2018 as part of a federal program for the development of Crimea and Sevastopol. In the same year, the Rotenberg company Stroygazmontazh won a tender for the marina's design, and their other company Mostotrest, responsible for building the Crimean Bridge, was set to undertake the construction.

However, local residents and business owners from mainland Ukraine became obstacles to the marina's construction, which is supposed to accommodate 600 yacht berths and hotels for visitors.

The first property seizures in the bay began in 2015 under the pretext of returning military lands that had been sold off by the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense. Owners fought against the Russian-appointed authorities in Crimea for about 10 years over their properties, with many cases still ongoing.

The situation accelerated after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The Crimean Parliament passed a special law allowing the seizure of property from individuals "associated with unfriendly states." This enabled the auctioning of properties owned by Ukrainian businessmen, allowing the Rotenbergs to acquire them at economically unreasonable prices.

Meanwhile, government bodies overwhelmed local owners with lawsuits, accusing them of unlawfully acquiring property before Crimea's annexation, violating Ukrainian laws and the Constitution. Additionally, criminal cases were initiated against the most stubborn businessmen, such as Crimean entrepreneur Vladimir Ovanesov, as noted by Verstka.

Among other acquisitions, in 2023, the Rotenberg brothers purchased an unfinished hotel for 105 million rubles, which had been seized from Ukrainian businessman Alexey Plyas. The hotel was located on a 3,500 square meter plot.

In 2024, the Rotenbergs acquired property from Ukrainian politician and businessman Andrey Senchenko, who had fought for it since 2010. Senchenko owned a hunting lodge belonging to Prince Yusupov on Tavricheskaya Embankment and a plot of over 1,000 square meters on 7 November Street. The peninsula's authorities auctioned these properties, which the Rotenberg's company "Port Lamos" bought for 211.5 million and 37 million rubles, respectively.

The billionaire brothers also obtained property from businessman Vladimir Ovanesov, who owned buildings at Tavricheskaya Embankment 28-29 and a house at Tavricheskaya Embankment 32, previously owned by former Balaklava district council deputy Leonid Sushko from the Progressive Socialist Party of Ukraine. Moreover, they acquired properties that were previously registered with the FSB, including Crimea's oldest cinema Rodina, and several plots on Nazukin Embankment and Novaya Street.

The process of consolidating property by the Rotenbergs in Balaklava Bay is far from complete.