SIMFEROPOL, February 3. /TASS/. The Crimean Property Department has auctioned off the property of the nationalized sanatorium Foros near Yalta that formerly belonged to structures close to Ukrainian oligarch Igor Kolomoisky, a TASS correspondent reported from the scene.
The property’s new owner, the Trade Union Federation of Tatarstan, will pay 1.43 billion rubles ($18.2 million) for the acquisition.
Foros became the Ukrainian oligarch’s first nationalized property in Crimea put on sale.
The funds received from the sale of the Foros property in February will be paid out to Crimean residents who suffered losses from the withdrawal of Ukrainian banks from the Black Sea peninsula, Crimea Head Sergei Aksyonov told journalists on Wednesday.
"The sanatorium has been sold, the auction has been held and the winner has been declared. An agreement will be signed within 10 days. Payments to Crimean residents will begin in February," Aksyonov said.
Compensations will be paid to depositors of Ukrainian banks whose deposits exceeded 700,000 rubles (about $9,000), the Crimean head said.
Kolomoisky’s other nationalized property in Crimea will be sold this year, he added.
"I’m confident that all the properties of Mr. Kolomoisky and all other structures affiliated with him will be sold off this year as a result of all correctly accepted procedures,’ the head of Crimea said.
Kolomoisky whose wealth is estimated at $2 billion ranks among the wealthiest people of Ukraine (the 2015 rating). He is also considered as one of the most influential persons in Ukraine.
The Crimean parliament made a decision on September 4, 2014 to nationalize Foros along with other properties owned by Kolomoisky and his Privat Group (over 80 assets).
A criminal case has been opened against Kolomoisky in Russia. The businessman is accused of using prohibited methods of war, organizing murders, obstructing the professional work of journalists and kidnapping people.
The Basmanny court of Moscow made a decision on July 2, 2014 on Kolomoisky’s arrest in absentia.
The Crimean authorities held a referendum on March 16, 2014 on local residents’ attitude to Crimea’s reunification with Russia. With a record turnout of over 80%, 96.7% of Crimean residents and 95.6% of electors living in the Crimean port city of Sevastopol voted for the Black Sea peninsula’s reintegration into Russia.
The treaty on integrating the Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol into Russia was approved by both houses of the Russian parliament, after which President Vladimir Putin signed a federal law on incorporating two new constituent entities into the Russian Federation.
Ukraine, the United States and the European Union have refused to recognize Crimea as part of Russia, despite the referendum’s convincing results.