Kyiv City Council Advices Kyivans Not To Buy Apartments From Mars Company

From Ukrainian News

The Kyiv city council is recommending Kyivans not to buy apartments from Mars company, which took on lease a land plot at 29 Miliutenka Street in the Desnianskyi district for building a residential house.

The recommendation was issued by a city council session on Thursday, May 24.

"To make it public with the aim of informing citizens about possible negative consequences from the purchase of apartment in the aforementioned house," the recommendation says.

The city council advises Mars not to sell apartments or conclude investment contracts for apartments until the city council decides on renewal or termination of its lease agreement.

The city council issued the recommendation following the decision passed by the Desnianskyi district council in March about inadmissibility of residential construction at 29 Miliutenka Street because of public protests.

Moreover, Mars, which took the land on short-term lease for three years in 2004, did not use it for construction purposes in the next three years, though began selling apartments in a house, which is yet to be constructed.

Anatolii Mukhovykov, head of Kyiv's main land relations department, said that 60 individuals, seeking to buy an apartment, concluded agreements with Mars to a total value of around UAH 12 million.

People started turning to courts, he added.

Mukhovykov thinks the city council should not extend the lease agreement with Mars.

The agreement expires in June.

As Ukrainian News earlier reported, the Kyiv municipal administration has registered 1,220 investors who have suffered from the Elite Center apartment fraud.

The fraud became public in early February 2006 when the committee of investors in the Elite Center construction investment group said that the company's executives had stolen over USD 100 million invested in construction of residential buildings in Kyiv.