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Vladimir Putin may be increasing pressure on rich Russians. Latest example is…
Russia Ukraine War: Andrey Melnichenko is the founder of Russia’s biggest steam coal miner Suek JSK and fertilizer maker EuroChem Group AG.
A lawsuit was filed against sanctioned Russian billionaire Andrey Melnichenko as the country's president Vladimir Putin continued to increase pressure on wealthy citizens to repatriate their assets from abroad amid Ukraine war. Andrey Melnichenko is the founder of Russia’s biggest steam coal miner Suek JSK and fertilizer maker EuroChem Group AG. Russian prosecutors targeted Melnichenko, Suek and two other companies, according to the filing on the court’s website.
According to Vladimir Putin, Russian businessmen who have moved their assets and families abroad must realize that they will remain “second-class strangers” despite having acquired the titles of “earls, peers and mayors."
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What is Vladimir Putin's plan for wealthy Russians?
Following Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, Russia was heavily sanctioned by the West owing to which the country's economy continues to crumble. Then, Vladimir Putin had slammed industrialists and other rich Russians who maintain their wealth abroad and called for them to repatriate their assets. Last week, the Russian president even asked his government and lobby groups to accelerate the transfer of businesses to Russian jurisdiction.
Suek is based in Russia but EuroChem- which isn’t involved in the case- is registered in Switzerland while holding major assets in Russia, Reuters reported.
What is the case against Andrey Melnichenko?
The case against Andrey Melnichenko- who now resides in the United Arab Emirates after living for many years in Europe- relates to energy assets that companies linked to him purchased in 2018 from businesses connected to former minister Mikhail Abyzov. Mikhail Abyzov was arrested and charged in 2019 in an alleged embezzlement case. Andrey Melnichenko's spokesperson said that the billionaire had received the claim and a hearing has been scheduled for Septemeber 7.
Andrey Melnichenko has an estimate $13 billion worth according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. He was sanctioned by the European Union and the US following Russia’s attack on Ukraine. He later withdrew as a beneficiary of a trust that controls stakes in the companies he founded.
Following this his wife Serbian singer Sandra Nikolic- an EU citizen- became the beneficiary. She was later sanctioned too.
