Russia's richest billionaire accused of corruption

Russia's Prosecutor General's Office has sued the country's richest billionaire, Andrey Melnichenko, for allegedly colluding with a minister to violate anti-corruption laws.

The lawsuit against billionaire Andrey Melnichenko was filed in court in Krasnoyarsk, Siberia, on August 17, but Russian media reported it only over the weekend. The Russian Prosecutor General’s Office wants to seize Sibeco, which operates several thermal power plants in western Siberia. Melnichenko bought the company in 2018 from Mikhail Abyzov, then a minister, after meeting him in Cyprus.

A few months later, in the spring of 2019, Abyzov was arrested on charges of embezzling $62 million and defrauding shareholders of Sibeco and another energy company in Novosibirsk Oblast in 2011. Abyzov’s assets were confiscated and he is currently in prison in Russia.

Russian billionaire Andrey Melnichenko in Moscow in February 2018. Photo: Reuters — Russian billionaire Andrey Melnichenko in Moscow in February 2018. Photo: *Reuters*

According to the lawsuit filed against billionaire Melnichenko, prosecutors said there was “corrupt collusion” between Melnichenko and Abyzov in the 2018 sale of Sibeco. They said the two men planned for Abyzov to conceal his involvement in the sale of Sibeco shares, which led to dishonest conduct by the contracting parties and was grounds for the state to confiscate assets related to the invalid transaction.

A representative of billionaire Melnichenko confirmed the lawsuit against him, but did not give details. A preliminary hearing at the Krasnoyarsk court is scheduled for September 7.

Billionaire Melnichenko, 51, has a large income from fertilizer production and coal mining businesses. He tops Forbes' list of Russian billionaires with an estimated fortune of $25.2 billion.

Ngoc Anh (According to RT, FT )

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