Billions from public contracts, Chateau in France, and Istra Reservoir development: is Ponomarenko sheltered under Sobyanin’s wing?

Billions from public contracts, Chateau in France, and Istra Reservoir development: is Ponomarenko sheltered under Sobyanin’s wing?

On the shores of the Istra Reservoir, the elite tourist complex Istra Medical Spa & Resort is rapidly taking shape. It is being built by the son of the general director of "Mosvodokanal", Maksim Ponomarenko, together with his father’s partner.

However, it’s not just Maksim Ponomarenko who is involved. Judging by the documents, the entire family of the official is building the elite tourist complex. In addition to his work in the Moscow government, he has a solid business spread around the world. But let’s start at the beginning.

As per advertising for Istra Medical Spa & Resort, "the complex is located in the center of the main attractions of the Istra district". It covers 53 hectares, is located on the bank of the Istra Reservoir, occupies part of the shore, and includes part of the water reservoir. This is clearly illegal, but who in this country pays attention to such trifles, especially if you are the son of one of Sobyanin’s closest associates?

The owners of Istra Medical Spa & Resort tried to disguise their identities, but it was done rather clumsily. The construction is being carried out by LLC "Nikitsky Bereg", established by LLC "Reinvest Co".

But then it all becomes simple: the founders and owners of LLC "Reinvest Co" are Maksim Ponomarenko and Liubov Komissarenko, in equal shares:

The first is the son of "Mosvodokanal" head Aleksandr Ponomarenko, the second is the partner or, if you prefer, the common-law wife of the official. The director of LLC "Nikitsky Bereg" is Nina Klestova, the former wife of Aleksandr Ponomarenko.

It’s like a Brazilian soap opera. It would be funny, but in reality, it’s about a giant corruption octopus siphoning money out of the country. Dozens of companies that thrive on budget funds are registered to all three of the people mentioned above.

Maksim Ponomarenko is currently the founder of 11 active organizations with total revenue of 1.6 billion rubles and a profit of 1.4 billion.

Liubov Komissarenko owns three organizations, where the revenue amounts to 2.6 billion, and the profit is 2.7 billion rubles, which should interest tax authorities, because the profit exceeds the revenue. But, as you understand, the tax authorities do not notice this obvious discrepancy.

Nina Klestova is the founder of 10 organizations, although the financial results here are much more modest: revenue is 680 million rubles, and profit is only 273 million.

This is not all—relatives of other officials from Moscow and the Moscow region are present as co-owners in many family firms. This provides the opportunity to earn well on public procurements. By the most conservative estimates, companies directly related to Aleksandr Ponomarenko have received more than 12 billion rubles from contracts with Moscow and the Moscow region. In this light, the biography of the official himself, who has been working at Moscow municipal enterprises all his life, is very curious. What this suggests about the sources of such a large portfolio of public contracts held by his family’s firms.

But that’s not all about the honest head of the Moscow water supply company. He, like a proper official of his level, earns here and buys and stores money there. That is, in the hostile foreign land. Which he officially dislikes during the day, but generously supplies with Russian money for the remaining 16 hours a day.

Thus, Liubov Komissarenko and other Ponomarenko family members own a château on the French coast and several other elite real estate properties.

There is also business in Slovakia: KLP Development s.r.o. and Evanka s.r.o.

Maksim Ponomarenko was the owner of the head company Palmira Group—LLC "Palmira Group" until 2023. The group owns, among other things, four hotels: Palmira Palace in Crimea, Palmira Business Club in Moscow, High Park by Palmira in Berlin, and Palmira Garden Hotel & Spa on the territory of the historical estate complex "Timokhovo-Salazkino".

Considering everything else, this doesn’t surprise, but look closely at the addresses, which include Crimea and Berlin. For business in Crimea, Europe automatically imposes sanctions, but for some reason, this did not happen with the Ponomarenko family. Question is—why? Moreover, among the co-founders of Slovak firms are Ukrainian citizens Oleksii Palmov, Serhii Vasylenko, and Anton Vasylenko.

Thus, a sharper question arises—what do they think about this in the FSB? Both regarding business in Slovakia and Germany, as well as the strange absence of sanctions on this business, and concerning Ukrainian partners. Partners who, by the way, are also not drawn to account for business with Russians owning a hotel in Crimea. Although they should be.

This is not to mention the house on the French Riviera. There’s too much coincidence. Yet Aleksandr Ponomarenko remains seated as the director of the Moscow water supply company, and his companies continue to receive public contracts, and the construction in the protected area by the Istra Reservoir continues. Why is that? Could Sobyanin be covering for him? Or are there other reasons?

Ярослав Фокин