MOSCOW — Oscar winning Russian director Nikita Mikhalkov‘s (Burnt By The Sun) production company TRITE has been caught in a controversy over illegal construction in Moscow.
Residents of several apartment buildings in central Moscow complained about construction works on a lot adjacent to their buildings and tried to find out who was behind the construction of a seven-story hotel, which they insisted was illegal, Russian Internet newspapergazeta.ru reported.
They were surprised to find out that the developer of the property turned out to be TRITE, which previously hasn’t shown interest in the real estate business.
On Tuesday, several activists protesting against the construction were detained by police. “One of the documents [required for obtaining permission] was based on forged information submitted by the developer,” one of the activists told the Ekho Moskvy FM station. “Now the [inspection agency] is preparing an address for revoking the document. Once it’s revoked, the construction works could be suspended.”
A spokesperson for TRITE told The Hollywood Reporter that the company could not comment on the issue at the moment.
A meeting of all interested parties to discuss the situation is expected to be held later this week, and the developer is “ready for constructive dialogue,” the Russian wire service RIA Novosti reported.
