The Supreme Court put an end to the lawsuit of the wife of ex-mayor of Moscow Yuri Luzhkov Elena Baturina to Russia. ZAO Territorial Directorate Setunskaya, owned by Baturina, required the Russian Federation to pay 33.6 billion rubles in compensation for the land plots withdrawn in favor of the state in the west of Moscow. This case lasts almost four years, and the land itself was confiscated from Baturina in 2010 at the suit of the Federal Property Agency, which was submitted to the same Moscow arbitration. The suit was synchronized with the general attack on Yuri Luzhkov, which was coordinated on all fronts.

Martian town

The suit in the Federal Property Management Agency was submitted to arbitration on August 28, 2010, and after exactly a month, on September 28, 2010, the then Russian President Dmitry Medvedev signed a decree that freed Yuri Luzhkov from the post of Moscow mayor in connection with the loss of confidence. Accordingly, the mayor was followed by three plots of land with a total area of ​​more than 16 hectares. In these territories the company Elena Baturina planned to build a multifunctional complex "Setun Hills", a project approved in March 2008 and received from the public the name "flying saucers that landed on the shore of Setuni". It was a time of insane ideas from the environment of Baturina and no less insane money that went to Moscow real estate.

The project of the German architect

Hadi Teherani really reminded the Martian town, which for some unknown reason was dug in the base of the Poklonnaya Hill. But soon the insane money was exhausted, and the "roof" of the mayor's office "collapsed". It turned out that UPDK, the department for diplomatic corps, claims to land, which became a third party in the arbitration process. In its demands, the Federal Property Management Agency said that the site, which was intended to land its plates of Madam Baturin, all 16.4 hectares were allocated by presidential decree of 1993 for quite different purposes. It was supposed to build buildings for foreign missions of China, India and Cuba. That is why these territories were later called "embassy lands".

Building and now there

What, who and in whom in reality allocated in 1993, it is difficult to say, given the revolutionary nature of that era. Taxes, starting from 2003, the state budget already paid "Setunskaya", and it is reasonable to assume that Elena Baturina did it not because of feelings of altruism, but considering herself the landlady. Since 2013, a whole series of lawsuits began in different instances. The final outcome of the proceedings is the recognition that the privatization of land plots, as well as the subsequent registration of ownership, were conducted in violation of existing international treaties. The reference to international obligations, obviously, was the reason for Elena Baturina's lawsuit against Russia. The situation looked absurd, as did the amount of the claim. At the same time, everything happened against the backdrop of the almost triumphant return of Yuri Luzhkov to Moscow and the reception in the Kremlin with the awarding of the Order of Merit for the Fatherland.

It is possible that the long-term judicial rigmarition was an attempt, albeit formally, but to fulfill its obligations to the "silent" investors of the Baturin projects. It is interesting that almost simultaneously with the Supreme Court against Elena Baturina played the High Court of London, which on May 10, 2017 refused to demand her to collect damages from businessman Alexander Chistyakov, who also (another coincidence) was filed in 2013. Alexander Chistyakov (also known as the husband of the singer Glukozy) managed to charm billionaire Elena Baturin no less enchanting compared with the idea of ​​the Martian plates - to build about 2 million square meters. M of residential and commercial property in the north of Morocco. In 2008 (as well as in the history with the "embassy lands") Chistyakov agreed with Baturina to invest in the Moroccan village 100 million euros, "charging" the burden of the project manager. The construction never began. And now the London court has recognized all these operations as speculative. Baturina previously managed to sue Chistiakov only 5 million euros, which he immediately "threw" on the account of his firm on the Virgin Islands.

The story with the Moroccan village looks too stunning, even against the background of madness of two thousand. It's no secret that the main problem for the Russian offshore aristocracy is the legalization of funds earned in Russia in the West. The times when in Europe it was possible to cash out any amounts received on overpayments for export-import contracts became history back in the 1990s, they were replaced by sophisticated schemes that included the purchase of knowingly expensive works of art, unprofitable sports clubs and other obviously unprofitable ones Operations. Losses on transactions also fit into this scheme. Especially to legitimize this loss could be in legal proceedings.

Therefore, it is possible that the five-millionth transfer made by Alexander Chistyakov into his offshore had completely different purposes, and everything else turned out to be a simple curtain that dropped at the end of the performance for spectators and regulators.