“Land seized from Ekaterinburg developers,” (“U ekaterinburgskikh zastroyschikov otobrali zemlyu”), Ekspert Ural 26 (382), 6 June 2009. 1 July 2010 http://www.expert.ru/printissues/ural/2009/26/news_nash_dom/.
Report on ZAO Nash Dom losing two land plots that Sverdlovskii arbitration courts ruled had been improperly divided up by the city administration. The land, nearly 42,000 m2 now returned to the city, was transferred in spring of 2007 by decision of the Ekaterinburg mayor; the courts noted that by law, after October 1, 2005, transfer of land was only legal through an auction. Although the Land Code does provide that lands included in contracts drawn-up before the 2005 cut-off could be transferred no later than March 1, 2007, since the actual lease agreement had been signed neither by Nash Dom nor by the city, the agreement made by both parties in 2005 did not hold up against the general prosecutor.
Nash Dom must now return the 79 million rubles to investors in the projects planned for the land’s development, as well as face the lost 130 million rubles already spent in the preparation of the land. Representatives of the company say they will file for compensation of these monies if the lands are returned to the city. In Ekaterinburg, there are 200 other property transactions that could be disputed by the general prosecutor in the same way; these are the seventh/eighth substantial plots seized as such.