The Russian Prosecutor General's Office has initiated legal proceedings against Andrey Melnichenko, one of Russia's wealthiest oligarchs and an outspoken critic of the invasion of Ukraine.
Melnichenko is the founder of EuroChem, a fertilizer producer, and SUEK, a coal producer. He is worth an estimated $13 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
The lawsuit, as reported on the website of the Sverdlovsky District Court of Krasnoyarsk, targets Melnichenko and two of his companies.
While the specific details remain undisclosed, a preliminary hearing is scheduled for September 7.
Russian media have cited documents posted on a Telegram channel (SovetBezRynka) that the state is seeking to take ownership of Siberian energy company Sibeco, which was acquired by Melnichenko five years ago. It has several thermal energy plants.
The Prosecutor General's Office has requested the seizure of all Sibeco's shares and property in favor of the state, according to the documents, alleging the original deal was corrupt.
CNN cannot confirm the authenticity of the documents and has reached out to Melnichenko's representatives.
Melnichenko is based in the United Arab Emirates. He is sanctioned by the European Union and the United States.
EU sanctions noted he attended a meeting with Putin on the first day of the invasion. “The fact that he was invited to attend this meeting shows that he is a member of the closest circle of Vladimir Putin," the EU said.
But Melnichenko later criticized the war in Ukraine. “The events in Ukraine are truly tragic. We urgently need peace,” Melnichenko told Reuters in March 2022.
As a Russian by nationality, a Belarusian by birth, and a Ukrainian by blood, I feel great pain and disbelief witnessing brotherly peoples fighting and dying.”
Putin has criticized Russian businessmen who have relocated overseas and demanded that the assets of companies with Russian operations be repatriated. Eurochem, one of Melnichenko's enterprises, is registered in Switzerland.
State news agency TASS reported last week that Putin had ordered authorities "to accelerate the transfer of business assets, in the first instance, in key sectors and branches of the economy, to the Russian jurisdiction," CNN reports.
