Ukraine officially nationalizes a Russian oil and gas asset, who is the owner Eduard Khudaynatov?

Ukraine has just officially announced the nationalization of 500 million UAH (about 13.32 million USD) worth of oil and gas assets of Russian tycoon Eduard Khudaynatov.

Ukraine chính thức quốc hữu hóa một tài sản dầu khí của Nga, chủ sở hữu Eduard Khudaynatov là ai?

$700 million superyacht Scheherazade. (Source: DailyMail)

The High Anti-Corruption Court of Ukraine (HACC) has upheld a lawsuit filed by the country's Ministry of Justice regarding the nationalization of assets owned by Russian oligarch Eduard Khudaynatov, who was previously sanctioned.

The relevant statement was issued by the Security Service of Ukraine (SSU).

Accordingly, the HACC Statement said, “100% of billionaire Khudaynatov's shares in the authorized capital of Alliance-Ukraine Oil Company LLC were returned to Ukraine, estimated to be worth about UAH 500 million.”

According to the investigation documents, Russian oligarch Khudaynatov controlled the Ukrainian oil trading company through a number of offshore companies ( a company registered in territories where they receive full tax exemption if the company operates with profits arising outside that territory) and other controlled entities.

By taking control of the asset, Russian oil billionaire Khudaynatov had hoped to prevent his oil and gas assets in Ukraine from being nationalized when Moscow launched a special military operation, while also generating significant profits from the energy market in the neighboring Eastern European country.

However, the Security Service of Ukraine has determined who is the real beneficial owner of the Ukrainian oil trading company Alliance-Ukraine Oil Company LLC.

The investigation also determined that billionaire Khudaynatov is one of President Putin's trusted representatives. He is in charge of the Russian oil company NNK-Group and was a member of the board of directors of the oil giant Rosneft - a company that is largely owned by the Russian government .

According to the SSU, the above companies are the main sponsors of the Kremlin's military campaign in Ukraine. These enterprises are accused by Ukraine of constantly supplying fuel and oil to the Russian defense industry, as well as military units. They transfer billions of rubles to the Moscow budget every month.

Therefore, an investigation is underway against the Russian oligarch, according to the criminal procedure initiated by the SSU investigators under Part 4 - Article 110-2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine - on financing actions aimed against Ukraine.

In February 2023, following a lawsuit filed by the SSU, the High Anti-Corruption Court of Ukraine upheld the request of the country's Ministry of Justice to transfer businesses owned by another Russian billionaire, Oleg Deripaska, to Ukrainian state ownership. The total value of the assets transferred to Ukraine is approximately more than UAH 10 billion.

Russian oil tycoon Eduard Khudainatov's name received little attention compared to other Russian oligarchs until 2022, when his name suddenly appeared in a lawsuit to determine which Russian oligarch was the real owner of the $325 million superyacht Amadea, which the US declared seized.

US officials have accused billionaire Khudainatov of being a stand-in. They claim the Amadea yacht actually belongs to one of Russia’s richest tycoons, gold tycoon Suleiman Kerimov, who is under Western sanctions.

The US has also questioned whether Khudainatov may be acting as a proxy for the owner of another, more valuable superyacht, the $700 million Scheherazade, which was seized in Tuscany, Italy, after the Russia-Ukraine conflict broke out. The real owner of this ship is also believed to be subject to Western sanctions.

US authorities admitted in an investigation report that Russian billionaire Khudainatov is also very wealthy, but there is “no basis” to believe he has the financial resources to buy both superyachts Amadea and Scheherazade.

Previously, tycoon Eduard Khudainatov had not been sanctioned by any country. But later, this person was also blacklisted by the European Union (EU) on the basis that he benefited from Russia's leading oil company. The EU accused this businessman in his 60s of "benefiting from the Russian government" and having close ties to the Kremlin. He is also said to be the "documentary owner" of the two yachts that were seized.

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