The Prosecutor General’s Office has taken legal action against Andrey Melnichenko, who is currently Russia’s richest man, alleging corruption. Court documents from the Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk revealed that the prosecution filed a lawsuit against Melnichenko, although the news only broke in the Russian media on Saturday.
With an estimated net worth of $25.2 billion, Melnichenko has acquired his wealth through enterprises such as fertilizer production and coal mining. He currently sits atop Russia’s Forbes list of billionaires.
According to RBK news outlet, the lawsuit is related to energy-sector assets that the prosecutors believe Melnichenko obtained from companies linked to Mikhail Abyzov, an entrepreneur and former Russian cabinet minister who oversaw the Open Government project from 2012 to 2018. Abyzov was detained in 2019 and is currently awaiting trial on charges of embezzling over $62 million in 2011 from two energy companies in Russia’s Novosibirsk Region.
The lawsuit, the text of which was published on SovetBezRynka’s Telegram-channel, seeks the recovery of Novosibirsk-based Siberian Energy Company (SIBEKO) assets from Melnichenko in favor of the Russian state. The investigation into Abyzov’s case yielded data indicating a violation of anti-corruption laws by Melnichenko and legal entities under his control during the transaction to acquire SIBEKO shares.
It is claimed that Melnichenko and Abyzov, who were known to have maintained “informal friendly relations,” devised a scheme to conceal Abyzov’s involvement in the SIBEKO sale during a meeting in Cyprus in February 2018. The prosecutors argue that the deal represented “dishonest behavior” by the contracting parties, providing grounds for the state to seize all assets involved in this “anti-social transaction.”
Melnichenko’s representative has confirmed that the lawsuit has been filed against the billionaire but declined to comment further. The preliminary hearing at Krasnoyarsk Court is scheduled for September 7.
In other news, Lithuania’s main fertilizer producer has experienced the backfiring of EU sanctions. To find out more, click here.
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