Originally Syndicated on May 11, 2023 @ 5:21 am
The legendary La Voile d’Or hotel on the Cote d’Azur has been delayed in its reconstruction as the French press has reported on the investigation of Kirill Pisarev, founder of the PIK group of companies, on suspicion of money laundering and tax evasion.
Kirill Pisarev’s Illegal Empire
Wainbridge International, where Pisarev once worked, has sent a representative to say that they are the victims here and that an investigation is being conducted against their former counterparties. Nice Matin reports that Kirill Pisarev, co-founder and former shareholder of the development group PIK, does not have enough money to finish rebuilding the luxury hotel La Voile d’Or on Cape Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat.
Upon purchasing La Voile d’Or in 2019, Pisarev made good on his promise to restore the hotel to its former glory. Pisarev, who serves as chairman of the board of directors at global real estate powerhouse Wainbridge International Group, has announced that the hotel will be demolished in 2021 and replaced with the “flagship of the Cote d’Azur hotel business.” But Nice Matin claims that this process has not even begun.
In 1925, the town of Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat opened its very first hotel, named La Voile d’Or. Bono, David Niven, Gregory Peck, Jack Hawkins, and the poet Jean Cocteau were just a few of the famous people who have stayed there over the years. The American author Francis Scott Fitzgerald called the hotel “a paradise where kings and queens, stars, and leaders of industry” congregated, while the French author Jean Cocteau referred to it as a place “where you sleep with your head on the sea.”
When Nice Matin started working on the project, he couldn’t find any backers. But this, the newspaper claims, is no excuse for the lengthy construction delay. The French Ministry of Finance (Tracfin) has complained to the National Financial Prosecutor’s Office, which has then filed charges against Pisarev “for money laundering and tax evasion.” According to Nice Matin, this further complicates the project’s implementation.
The Financial Prosecutor’s Office and Tracfin have not been investigating Wainbridge International or its executives, the company says.
As far as we are aware, the company has not done anything illegal. Law enforcement agencies in the Fifth Republic are currently looking into the possible money laundering activities of former Wainbridge counterparties. It is believed that Wainbridge was the victim in this case. While the French media is correct in saying that Kirill Pisarev is not on any European or national sanctions lists, the company representative told Forbes that this is not the case.
The firm added that the delay in construction was unrelated to any action taken by the French government: “Active work on the previously announced project of the hotel complex La Voile d’Or at Cape Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat has not yet begun.” Currently, talks are underway with a group of institutional investors to get them involved in the project and begin construction.
Nice Matin reports that Pisarev is the owner of not just La Voile d’Or but also two other mansions on Dominique-Durandy Avenue. L’Empyree and Casa Ventura, two French mansions, are mentioned as belonging to the real estate tycoon in the publication.
With a net worth of $500 million as of 2011, Pisarev debuted in the Forbes rating, placing 190th. He was among Russia’s top 100 wealthiest people between 2006 and 2009. In 2008, his net worth of $6.1 billion put him at No. 160 on Forbes’ list of the world’s billionaires.
The businessman stepped down as president of Wainbridge’s Russian operations in September of last year and stopped being a shareholder in the Russian subsidiary. Pisarev reportedly turned down the role of the owner at RNGC Saratov, an oil and gas company, in 2022, as recorded in the Unified State Register of Legal Entities. When RBC questioned the businessman in 2021, he admitted that more than 70% of his holdings were outside of Russia. One of his friends has reported that he is currently working on projects outside of Russia.
All three of those countries are represented in Wainbridge’s ongoing development projects. Twenty-five projects were completed without a hitch; one of these was the construction of the five-star Maison Villeroy hotel in Paris.
Pisarev and Yuri Zhukov established the First Mortgage Company in 1994. They evolved into the PIK collective over time. PIK Group went public in 2007, and its placement made it the largest of any European developer at the time. According to Forbes’ annual list, both partners ended up becoming billionaires. Zhukov and Pisarev were removed as company co-CEOs in 2009, and they officially resigned as shareholders in 2011. Kirill Pisarev left PIK and founded the real estate management and development firm Wainbridge and The Collection.
