The High Anti-Corruption Court of Ukraine (HACC) has ruled in favor of the Ministry of Justice in its lawsuit to seize loan claims tied to the Kyiv-based Ocean Plaza mall, worth over $200 million.

The HACC imposed sanctions on Russian oligarchs Arkady Rotenberg and his son, as well as their business partners Alexander Ponomarenko and Alexander Skorobogatko.

Deputy Minister of Justice Inna Bohatykh said on Facebook that the loan agreement was signed in 2009 between the mall's owning company and Cyprus-based Ethoder Investments Limited, controlled by Russians. In 2014, Ocean Plaza and the land beneath it were pledged as collateral for the loan.

"We're expecting an appeal and are preparing for it," Bohatyh added.

In 2023, the HACC also approved the confiscation of assets belonging to the named individuals, including 100% of the capital in Avangard-Vilarty LLC and 66.65% in Investment Union Lybid LLC.

In June 2023, the Cabinet of Ministers transferred the capital shares of Lybid, which owns Ocean Plaza, to the State Property Fund for privatization. An auction for Ocean Plaza is expected in the second half of 2024, with a starting price of UAH 1.65 billion.

Ocean Plaza, located at 176 Antonovycha Street in Kyiv, opened in December 2012, with a total area of 165,000 square meters. Investments in the project amounted to approximately $300 million, with UDP and K.A.N. Development serving as project partners. The mall was sold to Rotenberg's Russian real estate company TPS Real Estate in 2012. Ukrainian businessman Vasyl Khmelnytsky indirectly acquired 33.5% of the mall's shares through UPD Holdings Limited in 2019, before selling his stake to entrepreneur Andriy Ivanov in 2021. The transaction was finalized in mid-2023.