According to Victor Yarofeyev, who publishes a blog for a radio station in Moscow, Echo of Moscow, the total value of the JW properties in Russia is 1.9 billion rubles. Which converts to $31,956,955 US. Almost 32 million dollars.
Yarofeyev speculates that, if the Supreme Court refuses the org's appeal on July 17, some of the JW's properties may prove difficult for the Russian government to seize. The org, in anticipation of the seizure, transferred much of the property ownership to foreign JWs.
This is a google translate of the article - original Russian at link:
http://echo.msk.ru/blog/cur_blog/2009356-echo/
CENTER FOR INVESTIGATIONS :: BLOG
29 June 2017
"Witnesses" do not leaveIf the July 17 "Administrative Center of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia" will not be able to appeal their elimination, then enter into force on the decision of the Supreme Court recognized the extremist organization and its property - subject to forfeiture. About 175 thousand depositors have invested in the earthly "kingdom", will remain with nothing. Center of Investigation Department estimated the scale of the largest post-Soviet nationalization - the Jehovah's Witnesses have at least 211 houses in 57 regions of the cadastral value of 1.9 billion rubles. The state will receive the most expensive part, but to take away all have to work hard.
From 1993 to 2017, religious organizations of Jehovah's Witnesses (*) has collected 438 addresses registered in Russia. We checked all the owners of these houses, and 211 addresses were associated with Jehovah's Witnesses. Of us found the property, according to USRRE, Russian and foreign associations 'witnesses' own 118 objects, 93 more are owned by the leaders and founders of the local branches and their relatives. The cadastral value of the property, located in 57 regions of the country is 1.9 billion rubles.
The most liquid assets are Jehovah's Witnesses in St. Petersburg - 11.4 hectares of land with several buildings with total area of 9625 square meters. m. Thus, in the village of Sunshine on the Gulf of Finland on 10 hectares located now empty headquarters of Jehovah's Witnesses with residential and technical buildings. There also has been registered "Administrative Center of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia" - an umbrella organization of Jehovah's Witnesses. Another commercially attractive plot size in hectares - on Kolomyazhsky Avenue 21. There Jehovah's Witnesses built Congress Hall for 2000 people, used for large events and lectures. Cadastral value of all objects of a religious organization in St. Petersburg - 780 million rubles, the market may be twice as much.
The Moscow branch of Jehovah's Witnesses held modest - in the capital of "witnesses" belongs to only one building. But it is on the estate "Mihalkovo" Panin at Golovinskoye ponds, its area - 3194.7 sq. m, cadastral value - 297 million rubles. In 2010, the prefecture of the Northern District said that the building was illegally privatized JSC "Moscow Tonkosukonnaya factory named after Petra Alekseeva" and sold "Administrative Center of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia." However, to take away property from the Jehovah's Witnesses did not work - now owned by the Austrian home community organization.
Most real estate, we found in the south in the Stavropol and Krasnodar Territories - 31 object cadastral value of 202 million rubles. Stavropol adherents of "witnesses" were among the first subjected to severe pressure from the law enforcement officers. In March 2016 during searches of worship of Jehovah's Witnesses in the building found the literature made to the Federal List of Extremist Materials. Jehovah's Witnesses claim that the literature they were planted. At its channel in Youtube, they published a video from surveillance cameras, which illustrates the masked men take out of the pockets of some papers and put them on the table. At the same time, searches took place in Karachaevo-Cherkessia in the building of the local branch of Jehovah's Witnesses, which also have been found extremist materialy.God later for distributing banned literature Court liquidated the Karachai-Circassian organization and gave it to the state property. According USRRE, now belonged to her house (298.5 sq. M) and land (857 sq. M) bailiffs imposed a ban on alienation.
Now the government must withdraw all the property of a proscribed organization. However, in six months the assets "of the Administrative Center of Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia" and its divisions have decreased significantly - as soon as the threat of liquidation became a reality, the Russian religious organizations have started to give or donate property to the foreign missions of the Jehovah's Witnesses. From January to the end of April 2017 foreigners managed to pass the 74 property cadastral value of 402 million rubles. The main donee steel community of Jehovah's Witnesses in Sweden, Austria, Spain, as well as "the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania", which belongs to (with the encumbrance of law in favor of the "Administrative Center"), the headquarters of Jehovah's Witnesses in St. Petersburg since 2010.
The state has already begun to stop attempts of real estate transfer. The local organization of the Stavropol region Jehovists tried to give the ground (2851 sq. Meters) and Kingdom Hall (1 161.6 sq. M) in the village Nezlobnaya "witnesses" from Denmark. Regional Rosreestra management refused to register the transaction. Danish community in the beginning of June, tried to challenge the refusal of the Court of Arbitration of the Stavropol Territory, but the court has not issued a statement considering the dispute itself incompetent. Back in March of 2017 in the Stavropol region deal with foreign organizations "witnesses" were recorded, and the local communities had to give three property Jehovah's Witnesses from Austria.
As a result, as of June 2017 the foreign community of Jehovah's Witnesses own most of the property found us. They own 65% (16.4 hectares of land and 25,072 sq. M of buildings and facilities, only 78 objects) cadastral value of more than 500 million rubles. 93 objects are owned by the managers, founders of Russian departments and their relatives, but it is the most modest assets - 11.5% of the Russian real estate (2.7 hectares of land and 6020 square meters of buildings.) Worth 175 million rubles. Only 23.5% of the property (5.4 hectares and 13,989 square meters, a total of 40 objects.) Belongs directly to Russian legal entities "witnesses", but it is the most expensive - not less than 660 million rubles. This distribution can allow Jehovah's Witnesses to keep most of the property - if the transaction on its transmission will not be challenged.
The state is such an opportunity, according to a senior partner of the Bar "Yukov and Partners" Irina Adamova, "Since the property was transferred under the contract of donation, it will be possible to prove that this sham transaction for the renewal of the title of the owner is to avoid forfeiture of the property . If the prosecutor proves that the transactions were concluded in order to avoid enforcement of the judgment, and not for gratuitous gift, the State will be able to assign the property. "
On the property, which is owned by the managers, founders of local organizations and their relatives, the state is unlikely to be able to claim. According to Irina Adamova, prosecution will have to prove that the building was bought with the money of this religious organization, rather than the owner's agent. Do it and to confiscate the property will be much more difficult than in the case of donation of foreign organizations.
This is a map that shows the locations of JW property in Russia:
