Oschadbank, Ukreximbank temporarily close Gulliver retail and office complex, accuse former owner

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The consortium of state-owned Oschadbank (80%) and Ukreximbank (20%), which on July 26 received ownership rights to the Gulliver retail and office complex, has decided to temporarily close the complex from 22:00 on October 30, 2025.

"The purpose of this step is the safety of visitors and representatives of the complex’s tenants, as well as guaranteed avoidance of accidents and man-made threats that may be caused by the former owner of the facility," Oschadbank said in a statement on Friday.

"The date and time of the resumption of the complex’s operation in the event of its closure will be announced additionally. This will happen immediately after the situation stabilizes," the statement said.

According to it, such a decision is due to the fact that representatives of the former owner (Tri O LLC) are sabotaging the transfer of effective management of the complex to the banks in every possible way.

It was reported that the consortium has been denied access to premises containing utility systems and equipment essential for the operation of the complex’s infrastructure, including dispatch and automation systems, external advertising systems, security systems, the media façade, fire safety systems, elevator control systems, and more.

The bank added that Tri O LLC has been overloading the complex’s energy-intensive systems during electricity use restrictions, leading to power outages. At the same time, consortium specialists are not being allowed to access the site to identify and eliminate the causes of these outages. Meanwhile, Oschadbank noted that it has signed an agreement for the supply of imported electricity.

According to the statement, the consortium will seek compensation for damages and hold those responsible to account.

"The consortium of banks has taken all necessary legal steps to respond to the aforementioned illegal actions: law enforcement agencies, the military administration, and others have been notified. The banks will legally pursue compensation for damages and demand criminal liability for all those involved — both organizers and perpetrators," the statement said.

At the same time, Tri O maintains that all structural elements, utility systems, equipment, and mechanisms of the Gulliver business and financial complex (BFC) are operational and can function normally. The company says there are no technical grounds cited by Oschadbank representatives for closing the complex, nor is there any threat to tenants or visitors.

"All members of the Tri O team are at their workplaces, and our presence ensures the safe operation of the facility. However, representatives of Oschadbank are instructing their contractors to shut down high-risk equipment, thereby creating accident hazards themselves. They are also trying to block access for critical specialists, who are not part of Oschadbank, but are essential to maintaining the normal operation of the utility systems," Tri O said in its official statement.

The company added that the obstruction of operations merely demonstrates Oschadbank’s inability to ensure the proper, safe, and uninterrupted functioning of the Gulliver complex. As a result of the current situation, tenants are removing goods and equipment, relocating their projects to other sites, and vacancy rates in the complex’s retail and office spaces are rising rapidly.

As reported earlier, on October 17, 2025, Kyiv’s Shevchenkivsky District Court lifted the seizure of the Gulliver complex, which had been imposed as part of a criminal case over alleged tax evasion. Following this, the National Asset Recovery and Management Agency (ARMA) halted its search for an asset manager.

In July 2025, a consortium of state-owned Oschadbank (80%) and Ukreximbank (20%) acquired ownership of BFC Gulliver as debt recovery from its beneficiary. The recovery procedure was launched due to Tri O LLC, the debtor and former owner of Gulliver, failing to meet its obligations under a loan agreement.

The consortium of state banks formed a management team and planned to operate the asset independently.

BFC Gulliver, located in Kyiv’s Pechersky district, opened in 2013. It has a total area of 151,800 square meters. The project was largely financed by Oschadbank, which granted Tri O a $460 million loan. The debt restructuring process for the loan, secured by a mortgage on the Gulliver complex totaling UAH 18.1769 billion, was completed in 2020.

Gulliver was transferred to ARMA’s management under decisions by the Shevchenkivsky District Court of Kyiv on June 3, 2024, and the Kyiv Court of Appeal on June 25, 2024, following a motion from the Prosecutor General’s Office. The move was part of a Bureau of Economic Security (BES) criminal investigation into alleged tax evasion by Gulliver’s management totaling nearly UAH 146 million. BES formally charged Gulliver’s director in May 2023.

Earlier, the investigative program Schemes reported that the company owed Oschadbank and Ukreximbank UAH 14 billion. It claimed that the real owner of BFC Gulliver was former Mikhaylivsky Bank owner Viktor Polischuk, who was subjected to personal economic sanctions in April 2025.