LONDON (Alliance News) - Ukraine-focused real estate investor Dragon-Ukrainian Properties & Development PLC on Tuesday said the First Deputy Prosecutor for Kiev has filed a claim against the Vyshhorod District State Administration.
The claim filed relates to the title for 1.16 hectares of freehold land which form part of the Riviera Villas project, owned by Dragon-Ukrainian. The prosecutor is seeking to invalidate the title of the land belonging to Dragon-Ukrainian's project entity and transfer it back into the hands of the state.
The prosecutor claims the state administration in Vyshhorod violated procedures when the land was sold to private buyers back in 2005.
Dragon-Ukrainian said it thinks the claims are "unsubstantiated" given it was not involved in any transactions with the state administration regarding the project. It said it will take every effort to protect its interests and will defend its claim to the land.
"We are very concerned about what we believe are groundless claims on the land as well as the possibility of an overall precedent of a bona fide purchaser being deprived of its property rights in Ukraine. We are engaging with lawyers to advise us on this matter and defend the company's position, and will update shareholders on future developments in due course," said Mark Iwashko, Dragon-Ukrainian's chairman.
Shares in Dragon-Ukrainian were untraded Tuesday, having last traded at 24.00 pence.
By Sam Unsted; samunsted@alliancenews.com; @SamUAtAlliance
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