ARMA risks handing over Gulliver Mall to Adamovsky's "Russian hands"

In the tender for the management of the capital’s shopping mall “Gulliver”, only two contenders remain: “Limex Express Kyiv” and “Alakor City”, whose owner has Russian citizenship. If the first company is rejected after inspection, the Asset Recovery and Management Agency will face a choice: either announce the tender for the third time, or hand over the asset to the Russians, writes UNN.

DetailsIn total, three companies participated in the second tender. The contender who took first place – LLC “BC MILLENNIUM” – has already withdrawn from the race.

There are still two contenders left —  PE “LIMEX EXPRESS KYIV” and LLC “Alakor City”. 

The “Alakor City” company is participating in the competition for the selection of a manager for Gulliver shopping mall for the second time. Already during the first competition, it was revealed that the owner of this company – businessman Dmytro Adamovsky – has Canadian and Russian citizenship. This information was later confirmed by Ukrainian intelligence agencies.

According to Ukrainian legislation, companies with citizens of the aggressor country among their owners are not allowed to participate in public procurement and tenders. 

Despite this, Alakor City once again participated in the tender, trying to appeal its disqualification. As an argument, it provided a Canadian passport issued in the name of Dmytro Adamovsky and his residence permit in Ukraine. 

However, as experts note, neither a foreign passport nor a residence permit is a basis for recognizing the loss of Russian citizenship. 

If, after verification, the second company – PE “LIMEX EXPRESS KYIV” – withdraws from the race, ARMA will face a difficult but fundamental question: is it permissible to transfer an asset in the center of Kyiv to the management of a company with a “Russian trace”?

Formally — no. The law expressly prohibits companies whose beneficiaries have the citizenship of an aggressor state from participating in public procurement. Will Alakor City still manage to “pull the wool over ARMA’s eyes” and create an image of a company owned by a Canadian investor? 

In case Alakor City is allowed to manage, not an abstract system, but specific officials in ARMA who made this decision, should bear political and legal responsibility.

Moreover, this will have consequences for Ukraine’s international image – as a state that is fighting Russian influence, but allows companies with such a background to take control of objects in the capital. But as of now, ARMA, under the leadership of Olena Duma, still has the opportunity not to lose face. This is not just a management decision – it is a test of the resilience of Ukrainian institutions to Russian influence.

For more details on who Dmytro Adamovsky is and how he is connected to the inner circle of former President Petro Poroshenko, read here.

RecallThe Asset Recovery and Management Agency (ARMA) has repeatedly found itself at the center of scandals involving seized property. Recently, the head of the Verkhovna Rada’s anti-corruption committee, Anastasia Radina, announced that the head of ARMA had concluded the third asset management agreement for 2025 – the seized asset is transferred to the management of persons likely connected with the Russian owner. The head of the anti-corruption committee called the situation a “two-step move,” because initially Olena Duma stated that she would not allow Russian owners to manage, and then “calmly chooses a company as a manager… which the investigation considers linked to the same owners.”