A $20 million sports centre at Carrara on the Gold Coast is apparently shedding staff after their Russian billionaire owner was linked to a devastating mall fire in Siberia on March 25 which killed 64 people.
Employees of KDV Sport, which opened 18 months ago, said a number of full-time maintenance staff had left or been axed in the past few weeks.
Owner Denis Shtengelov, whose sister Julia runs the centre, stated he helped fund the Siberian mall’s construction but had no role in its ongoing operational management, amid investigator’s claims its fire alarms weren’t working and other safety breaches.
Ms Shtengelov disputes the extent of the staff exodus, saying one full-time employee was made redundant and two left for “personal reasons.”