Latest news with #Yuzhuralzoloto
See - Sada Elbalad
12-07-2025
- Business
- See - Sada Elbalad
Russia nationalizes Yugoralzoloto, the country's third-largest gold company, strengthening its control during wartime.
Waleed Farouk In a notable development amid a series of acquisitions carried out by the Russian government since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, a court in the Chelyabinsk region ruled on Friday to nationalize Yuzhuralzoloto, Russia's third-largest gold producer. This move underscores Moscow's intent to strengthen its control over strategic assets during wartime. Prosecutor's Lawsuit and Allegations of Political Exploitation On July 2, the Russian Prosecutor General's Office filed a lawsuit seeking to seize the Yuzhuralzoloto Group of Companies (YUGK) and 10 affiliated firms from billionaire and regional Duma member Konstantin Strukov, who previously served as the company's CEO before entering politics. The prosecution accused Strukov of abusing his political influence to unlawfully acquire the company, restructuring it into a public joint-stock company, and transferring ownership to close associates, including his daughter Alexandra Strukova, a Swiss citizen. Swift Trial Behind Closed Doors According to Interfax, the Sovetsky District Court ruled in favor of the prosecution and ordered the immediate confiscation of all company assets. The trial was held in complete secrecy and lasted no more than two days. The company stated it would decide whether to appeal once the full court decision is released. Strukov: Billionaire and Influential Politician Konstantin Strukov ranks as Russia's 78th richest individual, with an estimated net worth of $1.9 billion. He serves as deputy chairman of the Chelyabinsk regional legislative assembly and is a member of the ruling United Russia party. Despite Yuzhuralzoloto generating revenues of 25 billion rubles (approximately $320 million) in 2023 from producing 10.6 metric tons of gold, the company reported a net loss of 7.2 billion rubles (around $90 million). Kremlin Expands Control Over Private Sector Assets This ruling is part of a broad state-led campaign to seize private assets since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Estimates suggest the government has confiscated private assets valued at over $50 billion, roughly one-third of Russia's annual military expenditure. Observers believe this move may herald a new wave of nationalizations in strategic sectors such as mining and energy, amid escalating geopolitical tensions and the growing role of the Russian state in managing the economy under the banner of a 'sovereign economy.' read more CBE: Deposits in Local Currency Hit EGP 5.25 Trillion Morocco Plans to Spend $1 Billion to Mitigate Drought Effect Gov't Approves Final Version of State Ownership Policy Document Egypt's Economy Expected to Grow 5% by the end of 2022/23- Minister Qatar Agrees to Supply Germany with LNG for 15 Years Business Oil Prices Descend amid Anticipation of Additional US Strategic Petroleum Reserves Business Suez Canal Records $704 Million, Historically Highest Monthly Revenue Business Egypt's Stock Exchange Earns EGP 4.9 Billion on Tuesday Business Wheat delivery season commences on April 15 News Israeli-Linked Hadassah Clinic in Moscow Treats Wounded Iranian IRGC Fighters News China Launches Largest Ever Aircraft Carrier Sports Former Al Zamalek Player Ibrahim Shika Passes away after Long Battle with Cancer Videos & Features Tragedy Overshadows MC Alger Championship Celebration: One Fan Dead, 11 Injured After Stadium Fall Lifestyle Get to Know 2025 Eid Al Adha Prayer Times in Egypt Business Fear & Greed Index Plummets to Lowest Level Ever Recorded amid Global Trade War News "Tensions Escalate: Iran Probes Allegations of Indian Tech Collaboration with Israeli Intelligence" News Flights suspended at Port Sudan Airport after Drone Attacks Arts & Culture Hawass Foundation Launches 1st Course to Teach Ancient Egyptian Language Videos & Features Video: Trending Lifestyle TikToker Valeria Márquez Shot Dead during Live Stream
Spectator
08-07-2025
- Politics
- Spectator
Why Putin's elites keep dying
Although I suspect few readers' hearts will bleed for them, it's been a bad week for Russian elites. There has been a spate of real or apparent suicides and the arrest of a gold magnate as he prepared to leave the country. On Friday, Andrei Badalov, vice president of Transneft, Russia's largest state-controlled pipeline transport company, fatally fell from the window of his apartment in Moscow. This makes him the eighth senior Russian figure to die in this way since 2022. Although the police say he left a suicide note, by now the suggestion that foul play is at work has become something of a tasteless meme. This is a system in which everyone is corrupt, everyone has skeletons in their closet, and this is how Putin likes it The next day, Konstantin Strukov, CEO of Yuzhuralzoloto, Russia's third-largest gold producer, was preparing to fly to Turkey on Saturday on his private jet when the government revoked his passport, the federal aviation agency blocked his departure, and bailiffs boarded the plane and arrested him. He stands accused of massive, systematic corruption, using his financial and political muscle to seize coal and goal assets and then registering them under the names of relatives and other proxies. Then on Monday, Roman Starovoit was dismissed from his position as transport minister, although it seems he was already lying dead in his car, with his own pistol – ironically, a ceremonial one he was awarded in 2023 – next to him. Until last year, he had been governor of the Kursk region, and it seems that his successor, Alexei Smirnov, who is already under arrest for the wholesale embezzlement of a fifth of all the funds intended for the construction of defences against a Ukrainian attack, had also implicated Starovoit. Inevitably, the gossip is of forcible defenestrations, of a new purge, but the truth is likely at once less sinister and yet more worrying for the Kremlin. The state does kill, but in the main doesn't need to do so to members of the elite. This is a system in which everyone is corrupt, everyone has skeletons in their closet, and this is how Putin likes it: he has the excuses he needs whenever he wants someone made into an example. The humiliating arrest on camera, the show trial, the expropriation of the obscene riches accumulated through corruption and cronyism – these are the weapons of the Kremlin. Some, probably most of these suicides are probably exactly what they seem. The redefinition of the economy because of militarisation and sanctions has created winners and losers; high interest rates and the closing of many old export and import routes has led to selective pressures. In some cases, businesspeople may have taken their lives because personal and business pressures became just too much – and however outré it may sound, there are national propensities for suicide methods. Most suicides in the US are, predictably enough, by gun; in India, it is common to take pesticides; In Hong Kong, and Russia, people jump from tall buildings. Yet not all of these deaths are necessarily genuine suicides either. The increased pressures on the economy do seem to be pushing some more sharp-fanged or desperate business-political interests into more brutal competition for assets. As the national pie shrinks, the fight to retain the size of your slice increases. Usually, this is through pulling political strings to win contracts or preference, or else reiderstvo, 'raiding,' using fake documents or corrupted judges to take over rival companies. Sometimes, though, more severe methods are used: contract killings are again on the rise, and while most tend to use more unsubtle methods, some 'suicides' may be distinctly involuntary. Yet for every death there are many more arrests of corrupt officials and businesspeople. Putin's unspoken social contract with the elite is that they can steal, but only within certain limits and only so long as they are loyal to the Kremlin. That is unchanged, but the acceptable limits of personal enrichment and just what 'loyalty' means seem to be shifting, and in unpredictable ways. As one Moscow insider put it to me, 'the elites are willing to stay within the red lines – but what terrifies them is that they don't know where those lines are anymore.' This even affects those who were once untouchable. Strukov, for example, was also a powerful figure within the Chelyabinsk region apparatus of Putin's United Russia bloc, and deputy speaker of regional legislature. Starovoit likewise was a United Russia stalwart and a protégé of Arkady Rotenberg, one of Putin's childhood friends, and – not uncoincidentally – one of the country's richest men. So many other recent targets were once feted. Former defence minister Timus Ivanov, just sentenced to 13 years on bribery charges, was a Hero of Russia. This looks less like a deliberate purge, and more like the convulsions of a system in slow-motion crisis. A business elite increasingly engaged in cannibalistic competition for diminishing assets, a Kremlin that mistrusts the people on whom it depends to run its country and economy, that demands compliance with unspoken, unfixed and unclear rules. It certainly doesn't mean Putinism is headed for some imminent fall. But it does demonstrate that even as the war machine continues to grind on, the damage being done to the Russian regime is very real.
International Business Times
08-07-2025
- Business
- International Business Times
Who Is Konstantin Strukov? Russian Billionaire Gold Tycoon Targeted as Putin Seizes His Private Jet and Passport in Asset Crackdown
Russian President Vladimir Putin is cracking down on wealthy businessmen as the country faces deep financial strain from its ongoing war in Ukraine. One of the latest targets is billionaire Konstantin Strukov, owner of the gold mining giant Yuzhuralzoloto, who is worth over $3.5 billion. On July 5, Strukov's private jet was stopped at a Russian airport as it prepared to depart for Turkey. Authorities seized his passport and grounded the flight following a court order enforced by Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB). According to a Kyiv Insider report, Strukov is under investigation over how he accumulated his fortune. Russian prosecutors accuse Strukov of illegally enriching himself through the use of shell companies and the names of family members. His company has denied these claims, stating he was in Moscow on the day in question and calling the news "disinformation." However, court records reportedly confirm that a travel ban was placed on him and his family earlier. This move is part of a larger trend in Putin's Russia—shifting focus from political dissenters to wealthy elites in key industries such as gold, oil, and defense. These sectors are now considered essential to sustaining the war economy. Not even loyalty to Putin seems to provide protection anymore. Strukov, who has previously held political roles in support of the Kremlin, is now facing legal heat. Until recently, the government mostly targeted those who opposed the war or fled the country. Now, financial power alone is enough to draw attention. As Western sanctions squeeze Russia's economy and oil revenue drops, the Kremlin appears to be tapping into billionaire assets to bridge budget gaps. In recent months, several wealthy Russians have faced investigations, asset seizures, or have died under unclear circumstances. A court hearing on July 8 is expected to decide the fate of Strukov's business empire. But for Russia's ultra-rich, the signal is already clear: wealth and connections are no longer a guarantee of safety in wartime Russia.
Time of India
07-07-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Russia's elites in panic as Putin seizes empire of gold mogul Konstantin Strukov - private jet and passport seized
Russian President Vladimir Putin has started taking away assets from Konstantin Strukov, one of the richest businessmen in Russia. Strukov is worth over $3.5 billion and owns Yuzhuralzoloto, a huge gold mining company in Russia, as per the news reports. On July 5, Strukov's private jet was stopped at the airport as it was getting ready to fly to Turkey. His passport was taken away, and the plane was not allowed to leave the country. The Federal Security Service (FSB) acted on a court order, stopping the flight. The court is investigating how Strukov got his wealth, as per the report by Kyiv Insider. Why Russian government is doing this Prosecutors say Strukov used shell companies and family members to get rich illegally. Strukov's company denied everything, saying he was in Moscow on July 5 and called the reports 'disinformation.' But court documents prove that a travel ban was already placed on Strukov and his family, as per the Kyiv Insider report. This is part of a bigger trend in Putin's Russia—taking wealth from rich businessmen to support the war economy. The government is now focusing on industries like gold, oil, and defense, which are useful for funding the Ukraine war, as per the reports. ALSO READ: Trump reveals his secret nickname for Melania, and even he says 'It's terrible' Live Events Being loyal to Putin doesn't help anymore Strukov has always been loyal to Putin and even held political roles with the ruling party. But even loyalty is not protecting oligarchs anymore. Earlier, the government went after people who spoke out against the war or ran away. Now it's going after anyone with money, even if they support Putin, as per the report by Kyiv Insider. Russia is struggling financially—sanctions, less oil money, and budget problems are forcing the Kremlin to take money from billionaires. In the last few months, many rich Russian businessmen have faced legal cases, had assets taken, or even died under suspicious circumstances, as stated by the reports. The old deal was: stay loyal, stay rich. But now, even that "social contract" is breaking under the pressure of war. A court hearing on July 8 will decide what happens to Strukov's gold empire, as per the reports. ALSO READ: 102-year-old World War II hero's viral message about America will leave you inspired But the message is already clear to Russia's oligarchs: No one is too rich or too connected to be safe anymore. Putin is turning Russia's billionaires into targets, using their money to fund a war Russia can't afford, according to the report by Kyiv Insider. FAQs Q1. Why did Putin seize Konstantin Strukov's assets? Putin's government claims Strukov got his wealth through illegal means and is now targeting rich businessmen to fund the war in Ukraine. Q2. Was Konstantin Strukov trying to flee Russia? Yes, his private jet was stopped on July 5 as it was about to fly to Turkey, and his passport was taken by authorities. Economic Times WhatsApp channel )
Bloomberg
03-07-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Russia to Seize Top Gold Miner From Billionaire, Tass Reports
Russia is seeking to seize assets from the family of a billionaire that owns one of the country's largest gold miners. The Prosecutor General's Office wants to nationalize assets owned by Konstantin Strukov's family and his close associates, including the stake in Yuzhuralzoloto PJSC, Russia's fourth biggest gold miner, according to the state-run Tass news service, which cited a person it didn't identify in the prosecutor's office.
