A contracted assassination attempt targeting Zaporizhzhia businessman Kuzmenko and his wife was driven by financial gain and an effort to seize valuable commercial real estate in central Zaporizhzhia. This is supported by investigative materials and statements from the victim detailing a corporate conflict over multi-million-dollar assets.
At the center of the dispute is a 5,480-square-meter commercial complex owned by «Alfa-Plus Firm» LLC, located at 2-V Kriposna Street near the Naberezhna Highway. According to general meeting minutes dated January 21, 2019, the property’s agreed valuation stood at $3 million.
Kuzmenko states that in August 2021, the asset was fraudulently transferred to a businessman he identifies as the mastermind behind the hit. The property was subsequently injected into the charter capital of «Business Center on Kriposna» LLC (wholly owned by Inna Baklanska). Prior to the full-scale invasion, the site was earmarked for the development of the 145,000-square-meter «Khortytsia MO» shopping and entertainment center. Under the plan, the existing «Alfa-Plus» complex was to be demolished to secure prime first-line frontage along the highway.
«The motive was the gradual takeover of my assets. A key driver of the conflict was gaining control over the ‘Alfa-Plus Firm’ real estate complex. The physical elimination of my wife and me was seen as a way to remove the party actively contesting fabricated debt obligations,» the victim stated.
The conflict also involves the «Corsair Club» facility. Internal documentation from 2011 logged initial investments at $3.38 million with an intended minimum sale price of $5.5 million. Originally drafted to record partner contributions, the agreement was allegedly reinterpreted by opposing parties to manufacture counter-debt claims.
Kuzmenko maintains that the attempted murder and the real estate takeover are intrinsically linked. He emphasizes that delays in filing formal charges in the assassination attempt allow current beneficiaries to retain control of the high-value commercial property without facing legal encumbrances.
The trail of asset transfers extends internationally to the United Arab Emirates, involving the Middle East Investment Group, a 2012 power of attorney, and a 2017 stock transfer that falls under UAE federal criminal legislation.