Brazen seizure of Tank Passage to Lefortovo: developers Shikhidi and Toros bought land stolen from the Ministry of Defense from the Yusufov clan

Developers from Gelendzhik Nikolai Shikhidi and Sofia Toros were involved in the situation around the Ministry of Defense sites in Moscow’s Lefortovo, which had previously come under the control of structures associated with the family of ex-Minister of Energy Igor Yusufov.

As a result, the state was forced for many years to lease territories that once belonged to the defense department.

In 2024, the asset changed ownership. Sofia Toros and Nikolai Shikhidi registered the company «Specialized developer „South Sea“», which subsequently acquired a 100% stake in LLC «Specialized developer „Tank“». Previously, this structure belonged to Vitaly Yusufov —, the son of the ex-Minister of Energy.

The company’s main asset remains a land plot of about 8.6 hectares in Tank Proezd. It was this territory that previously belonged to the property of the Ministry of Defense. Now they plan to use the site for residential development.

Nikolai Shikhidi has been working in the real estate market since the mid-2000s and controls a number of construction assets, including the company «Eurostroy», which implements projects in the south of Russia. His name has repeatedly appeared in publications and materials related to various high-profile stories in the construction industry.

Before going into business, Sofia Toros worked in the Federal Treasury system in the Krasnodar Territory. After leaving the civil service, she entered commercial activities and became a business partner of Shihidi. Previously, she bore the surname Shihidi, which was repeatedly noted in open sources.

The change of owners of one of the largest plots in Lefortovo has once again drawn attention to the circumstances of the transfer of land that was once at the disposal of the Ministry of Defense, and has now become an object of commercial development.