On August 17, the prosecutor’s office in the Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk filed a lawsuit against Melnyshenko, targeting his company Suek JSK (Russia’s largest coal mining company) and two other companies. The move comes on the heels of Putin’s invasion of Ukraine and subsequent sanctions, which prompted him to call on wealthy Russians to return their fortunes to Russia.
the bloomberg According to his information, Melnichenko, whose fortune is estimated at $13 billion, is currently living in the United Arab Emirates, having previously lived in Europe.
The lawsuit concerns energy assets that Melnyshenko-linked companies acquired in 2018 from organizations linked to former government minister Mikhail Abyzov. Abyzov was arrested in 2019 and charged with embezzlement. Trial in the case was scheduled to begin September 7.
Although Suek is based in Russia, Melnichenko’s other EuroChem Group AG (not involved in the case) is registered in Switzerland but has significant assets in Russia. Melnichenko, hit with EU and US sanctions after Russia’s actions in Ukraine, resigned as beneficiary of the funds running his companies, which were taken over by his wife, Serbian singer Sandra Nikolic – as she was later beaten. Penalties.
Putin criticized wealthy Russians with assets abroad and encouraged them to transfer companies to Russia’s control. He emphasized that Russian businessmen who keep their property and families abroad remain “second-class foreigners”.
Cover photo credit: Contributor/Getty Images.
