Today we would like to talk about Ukrainian and British lawyers. As the saying goes, find 500 differences. It is well known that the level of officials and political leader in general, as well as law enforcement agencies and judges in the two countries, differ dramatically. Whereas in the UK they serve the nation and the state, in Ukraine, a banana republic, service in the government is seen as a way to become a millionaire and feed their grandchildren. Lawlessness and corruption in Ukraine are worse than in the most remote former British colonies. 

Lawyers of a healthy person and lawyers of a Ukrainian smoker 

It is impossible to find even one honest person in the Ukrainian government. But is it different in the case of lawyers? In fact, it is even worse. Because Ukrainian lawyers have long since turned into decision-makers who bring money into government offices. And often without resolving issues, even legitimate issues. They do what is commonly called "scam". Let us compare British and Ukrainian lawyers using the case of Tamaz Somkhishvili. 

Thus, Aleksieiev, Boiarchukov and Partners failed to protect the investor's interests in courts, as we wrote in our previous article. Instead, one of the most reputable British firms, Zaiwalla & Co., is defending British citizen and investor Tamaz Somkhishvili, defending his rights as an investor in Ukraine in the English courts and the UK authorities because there is no truth in Ukraine. The company has authorized leading counsel, Lord and Queen's Counsel Edward Garnier, to commence proceedings and appear before the court on behalf of Somkhishvili. Zaiwalla & Co. will also represent Mr. Somkhishvili before the UK Foreign Office regarding the violation of investment protection regulations in Ukraine and the dangers this poses to the future reconstruction of the country.

Lee Crestall, the firm's partner, is outraged that in Ukraine, a country that has received such unconditional support from the United Kingdom, a British citizen and investor has been targeted with such an attack aimed at preventing a fair trial and effectively expropriating his investment without compensation.

Thus, Zaiwalla & Co. directly and publicly states that the investor was insidiously and systematically attacked, that this is a gross violation of the laws of Ukraine and the UK, and that British lawyers will vigorously prosecute those responsible for violating Tamaz Somkhishvili's rights in London. A clear and understandable position.

Did Aleksieiev, Boiarchukov and Partners make any statements regarding the British investor, whose interests they undertook to protect in agreement with Kyiv Mayor Vitalii Klychko? Not a single one. By the way, the Mayor himself is too modest, given the funding he received for the re-election fund in the last local elections, and has never commented on the case. 

Let us see what the "famous" Ukrainian lawyers, one of whom managed to become a very scandalous MP of the equally scandalous European Solidarity party, known to be friendly to the Mayor, are doing.

In short, the famous lawyers are busy destroying the historic part of Kyiv and illegally building up ugly new buildings, Klychko-style "apartment buildings"-hotels with corrupt money. Whose are they? This question should be addressed to the mayor and his brother Volodymyr. It seems that Aleksieiev, Boiarchukov and Partners is representing their interests in the most stinking construction cases.

So, what are famous Ukrainian lawyers so busy with that they have no time and energy left for 100% honest cases? Here is our exclusive investigation. 

How Boiarchukov and Klychko demolished a 200-year-old historical monument 

In August 2023, a 200-year-old building in Kyiv's Podil district, which was a model of nineteenth-century wooden residential buildings, was demolished. An expert opinion concerning that building was issued in 2015 with a proposal to add it to the list of historical monuments. A week before the event, the media reported on the installation of a construction fence near the building at 13B Yaroslavska Street, and after publicity and activists' demands, Kyivblahoustrii inspectors issued an order to the developer, demanding that the fence be dismantled within 3 days. was demolished 200-річний будинок, який був зразком київської житлової деревʼяної забудови ХІХ ст. і щодо якої ще в 2015 році був експертний висновок з пропозицією внести до переліку історичних памʼяток. За тиждень до цієї події ЗМІ повідомляли про встановлення будівельного паркану біля будинку на Ярославській 13Б і після розголосу та вимог активістів інспектори “Київблагоустрою” внесли припис забудовнику, вимагаючи демонтувати будівельний паркан упродовж 3-х днів.

In 2010, the Kyiv City State Administration leased the building and the land plot under it to Serhii Boiarchukov, signing a corresponding agreement. According to the facility card in the construction register, the preparatory stage for the demolition of the existing historic building and the start of new construction began in 2021: urban planning conditions were obtained and relevant agreements were signed with contract design organizations. Despite Russia's large-scale invasion of Ukraine, preparatory work continued in the spring of 2022 and the process of expert evaluation of the facility began. According to the project evaluation card, in October 2022, the relevant procedure for the reconstruction of a non-residential building into a club house at 13 B/C Yaroslavska Street. карткою обʼєкту в реєстрі у сфері будівництва підготовчий етап до знесення існуючої історичної будівлі і початок нового будівництва розпочате в 2021 році – були отримані містобудівні умови, підписані відповідні договори з підрядними проектними організаціями. Попри широкомасштабне вторгнення рф в Україну, навесні 2022 року продовжили підготовчі роботи та розпочали процес експертизи обʼєкту. З картки експертизи проекту слідує, що в жовтні 2022 року було завершено відповідну процедуру щодо реконструкції нежилого будинку під клубний дім по вул. Ярославська, 13 літ. «Б», «В».

Despite the fact that Boiarchukov's design documents and public statements refer to the reconstruction of the building into a club house, given the design solutions used in the expert evaluation, the developer actually plans to build a hotel on the land plot. заявах Боярчукова йдеться про реконструкцію будинку під клубний дім, з огляду на проектні рішення, які застосовувалися при укладанні експертизи, насправді забудовником планується збудувати на даній земельній ділянці готель.  

It is/was impossible to implement the hotel project within the framework of the reconstruction of the existing historic building, which directly indicates Boiarchukov's intent to violate the existing lease agreement for the building and land plot, and to submit deliberately false plans when obtaining urban planning conditions and other approval documents for the facility.

It is worth noting that the construction permit was issued despite the existence of grounds for refusal on 7 points of non-compliance. дозволу на виконання будівельних робіт відбулася попри наявність підстав для відмови за 7 пунктами невідповідності вимогам.

The demolition of the historic building in August 2023 is definitely a violation of the issued reconstruction permit, which in turn was supposed to be subject to additional supervision by the Department of Cultural Heritage Protection. The fact of the building demolition in Podil caused a resonance in the circles of civic activists. The city authorities also responded to the event and the official information resources of the Kyiv City State Administration published a statement by Vitalii Klychko about his non-involvement in the situation and his indignation. заява Віталія Кличка щодо непричетності до ситуації та обурення.

However, despite Klychko's statements, the draft decision to terminate the lease of the plot at 13B Yaroslavska Street was submitted not by the Kyiv City State Administration, but by Kseniia Semenova, a deputy of the opposition to Klitschko's fraction in the Kyiv City Council. However, despite the quick response to the situation (the draft decision of the Kyiv City Council was registered in September 2023), the current status of this document has not changed since then. The draft decision has not been implemented, there has been no activity since the creation of the working group in November 2023, the lease agreement is still in force, and construction work on the site continues. проект рішення щодо розірвання договору оренди ділянки на Ярославській 13Б на розгляд подала не КМДА, а депутат опозиційної до фракції Кличка в Київраді Ксенія Семенова. Але попри швидку реакцію на ситуацію (проект рішення Київради зареєстрований у вересні 2023 року) поточний статус щодо цього документу відтоді не змінився – проект рішення не реалізовано, після створення робочої групи в листопаді 2023 року жодних активностей не було, договір оренди продовжує діяти, будівельні роботи на обʼєкті продовжуються.

Klychko’s 11 mirrors reflecting corruption and greed

The situation with the demolition of the historic building in Podil in 2023 and the plans to build a hotel on this site disguised as reconstruction are a direct analogue of the situation with Boiarchukov. In 2019, ALTERNATYVA LLC, owned by Boiarchukov, first received the right to lease and later permission from the Kyiv City State Administration to reconstruct the Author's House (a building located in the courtyard of the 11 Mirrors Hotel on Bohdan Khmelnytskyi Street and owned by the brother of Kyiv Mayor Volodymyr Klitschko). ТОВ «АЛЬТЕРНАТИВА», власником якої є Боярчуков, спершу отримала від КМДА право оренди а пізніше дозвіл на реконструкцію «Дому автора» (будівля, що знаходиться у дворі готелю «11 mirrors» на вул. Богдана Хмельницького та належить братові мера Києва Володимиру Кличку).

A detailed investigation by SLIDSTVO.INFO in 2021 into the Author's House established the chronology of events and violations by Kyiv City State Administration officials when leasing the building to BoIiarchukov's company, as well as subsequent litigation involving ALTERNATYVA LLC. The latter eventually allowed Volodymyr Klychko's VIT-PLUS LLC to buy the Author's House at an auction in 2019 (ALTERNATYVA LLC was the second admitted bidder), the difference in offers amounted to UAH 130 thousand). According to available information, the Author's House is currently used as the kitchen of the 11 Mirrors Hotel restaurant. розслідуванні СЛІДСТВО.ІНФО від 2021 року щодо «Дому автора» встановлено хронологію подій та порушення з боку чиновників КМДА при передачі в оренду компанії Боярчукова цієї будівлі, а також подальші судові розгляди за участі ТОВ «АЛЬТЕРНАТИВА», які в результаті дозволили ТОВ «ВІТ-ПЛЮС» Володимира Кличка на аукціоні викупити у 2019 році «Дім автора» (другим допущеним учасником аукціону був ТОВ «АЛЬТЕРНАТИВА», різниця в пропозиціях склала 130 тисяч грн). За наявною інформацією, «Дім автора» нині використовується в якості кухні ресторану готелю «11 mirrors».

In both cases, we observe the complete inaction of Kyiv City State Administration officials in stopping Boiarchukov's illegal actions with the demolition of the Podil building and in facilitating the issuance of permits for the actual construction of the hotel on the site of the historic Podil building.

Why is it so? Because Boiarchukov and Aleksieiev are fictitious persons of the current mayor. Boiarchukov and Aleksieiev are Klychko's hands and very dirty ones. Instead of projects that are useful for the city, such as the reconstruction of Kharkiv Square by the world's best architects, which was proposed by Tamaz Somkhishvili, they are engaged in distortion and destruction of their home city, demolishing historical monuments by their elite brothel hotels (as his authoritative partner Artur Palatnyi bequeathed to Vitalii) for the sake of their own enrichment.