The Russian Prosecutor General's Office dismissed the official who seized the assets of Domodedovo and Yuzhuralzolot
Sergey Bochkarev, head of the Main Civil and Judicial Directorate of the Russian Prosecutor General’s Office, has stepped down after working on high-profile cases involving the nationalization of major business assets, according to Russian media reports.
Bochkarev, who represented the state’s interests in cases involving the seizure of property, submitted his resignation. At the same time, the publication’s sources claim that Russian Prosecutor General Alexander Gutsan was dissatisfied with his work.
It was under Bochkarev’s leadership that the Russian Prosecutor General’s Office handled lawsuits regarding the transfer to the state of Domodedovo Airport, the pasta manufacturer “Makfa,” the gold mining company “Yuzhuralzoloto” (YUGK), and other major assets to the state.
In recent years, such cases have become virtually widespread in Russia. However, questions later arose regarding the department’s work due to the consequences of the sale of confiscated property.
According to sources, one of the reasons for Bochkarev’s dissatisfaction was that some of the assets were sold after seizure for significantly less than their initial appraisal value. In particular, the Prosecutor General’s Office had valued Domodedovo Airport at approximately 1 trillion rubles, but it was subsequently sold for just over 66 billion rubles.
In addition, the new owners of a number of nationalized enterprises faced serious problems, including outstanding debts.
Following this, as the publication notes, at the request of the Prosecutor General, the Russian Prosecutor General’s Office’s approach to litigation regarding asset seizures “underwent significant changes.”
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