Land offerings: who bought the property of the "Tsapkov gang" for 2.5 billion

The auction for the sale of lands of the agricultural enterprise "Slava Kubani", which belonged to a member of the "Tsapkov gang" Vyacheslav Tsepovyaz, failed due to a lack of bidders. The property was sold to the only bidder, the Moscow-based Trade House Melnik LLC. This company got the vast lands of the company in the Krasnodar region, it paid for them the initial price of the lot - 2.5 billion rubles. Why liquid assets did not arouse interest among potential buyers - in the material "Izvestia".

Why "Glory of Kuban" was put up for auction

The auction for the sale of land plots belonging to a member of the "Tsapkov gang" Vyacheslav Tsepovyaz, recognized as failed, according to information published on the site "Fedresurs" (Unified Federal Register of information on bankruptcy).

The auction for the sale of land located in the Kushchevsky district of Krasnodar Krai, was to be held on January 16 on the electronic platform "Trading Russia". These lands belonged to Tsepovyaz enterprise "Slava Kubani", one of the largest farms in Russia, specializing in growing grain.

Sergei Tsapka's gang in the 2000s controlled several districts of Kuban, killed people and "squeezed" businesses from businessmen to achieve their goals, and Vyacheslav Tsepovyaz was one of its active members. Now he is serving a 20-year sentence for numerous murders committed as part of the organized crime group. In September 2023, the court in Krasnodar declared Tsepovyaz bankrupt and began the realization of his property. Creditors' claims for 2.2 billion rubles were filed against him. The auction organizers estimated the value of the property put up for sale at 2.5 billion rubles.

The single lot included 94 assets, including land plots in the village of Sadovy, Kushchevsky district. The area of the plots ranges from 60 thousand to 1 million square meters. m.

In addition, the property includes a one hundred percent share of LLC "Experimental Production Farm "Slava Kubani. Due to the absence of other bidders, Tsepovyaz's land plots went to the only bidder - Trade House Melnik LLC registered in Moscow. The company's lands were sold at the initial price of the lot - 2.5 billion rubles, according to the data on the website "Bidding Russia".

It also says that the auction was recognized as failed "due to the inadmission of other applicants due to the lack of confirmation of the receipt of deposits for participation in the auction". The deposit amounted to 20% of the initial price, the participants were to transfer this money to the settlement account of Vyacheslav Tsepovyaz, according to the public information about the auction. "Melnik" was the only one who transferred such a deposit.

The only creditor of Tsepovyaz was AST Company M Holding, the legal successor of Kushchev businessman Nikolai Zakharov. Zakharov is the former owner of the agricultural enterprise Agroyuginvest, which Tsapki "snatched" from him.

In the summer of 2023, the court recognized him as a victim in the case of extortion by the Tsapks and the right to billions of dollars in compensation for the business taken away by the bandits. It was Zakharov who initiated bankruptcy proceedings against Tsepovyaz.

In order to preserve the family business "Slava Kubani", Tsepovyaz, already in prison, tried to transfer the rights to it to his wife Natalia Strishnya. But the court annulled the transfer of property, and the rights to the company reverted back to Tsepovyaz. According to the Rusprofile database, Strishnaya remains the holding company's CEO.

Profitable purchase

"Slava Kubani" cultivates 15 thousand hectares of land in the Kushchevsky district and grows grain. According to Rusprofile, the company remains profitable even after Tsepovyaz's landing, its revenue for 2023 amounted to 1.1 billion rubles, and profit - 125 million.

After Tsepovyaz was declared bankrupt, he can no longer manage the enterprise; all decisions are made for him by the bankruptcy trustee, Alexander Stroganov, head of the Center for Placing Government Orders law firm, explained to Izvestia.

- In fact, his property has been sold, and he cannot influence it in any way," the lawyer said. - The property of a bankrupt is always sold at auctions in favor of creditors. This is a normal procedure, anyone can participate in it, it is enough to make a certain contribution.

According to Alexander Stroganov, any goods can be put up for auction - from businesses to household appliances of the debtor. Acquiring property at auctions is extremely profitable - it is sometimes tens and hundreds of times cheaper than its market price.

- Remember the pledge auctions of the 90s, where enterprises were sold for pennies, - the lawyer gave an example.

If the auction for the sale of an enterprise is recognized as failed, but the bid of the only participant complies with the terms of the auction, then a sale and purchase agreement is concluded with such participant, noted Ilya Drozdov, a lawyer of Makeev and Partners Law Office, in a conversation with Izvestia.

- I believe that the debtor's reputation was not of fundamental importance for potential participants," he said. -The role, most likely, was played by external factors, for example, the scale of the bidding. Given that this is a rather large enterprise, it was difficult to find buyers willing to pay the necessary price.

Thus, the lawyer summarized, Melnik Trading House has the opportunity to conclude such an agreement. If it fails, a second auction will be held, and the initial price of the lot will be 10% lower than the price set at the initial auction.