Igor Sechin
Igor Sechin | |
---|---|
Игорь Иванович Сечин | |
CEO of Rosneft | |
Assumed office 23 May 2012 | |
Preceded by | Eduard Khudainatov |
Deputy Prime Minister of Russia | |
In office 12 May 2008 – 21 May 2012 | |
Personal details | |
Born | Igor Ivanovich Sechin 7 September 1960 Leningrad, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union |
Residence | Moscow |
Salary | ~$17,500,000 (2014)[1] |
Igor Ivanovich Sechin (Russian: Игорь Иванович Сечин; born 7 September 1960) is a Russian oligarch and a government official, considered a close ally and "de facto deputy" of Vladimir Putin.[2] Sechin is often described as one of Putin's most conservative counselors and the leader of the Kremlin's Siloviki faction, a lobby gathering former security services agents.[3][4][5][a] Until 21 May 2012, he served as Deputy Prime Minister of Russia in Vladimir Putin's cabinet,[6][7] and he is currently the Chief Executive Officer, President and Chairman of the Management Board of Rosneft, the Russian state oil company.[8] His nickname is Darth Vader.[9]
Career
Igor Sechin graduated from Leningrad State University in 1984 as a linguist, fluent in Portuguese and French.[10] In the 1980s, Sechin worked in Mozambique. He was officially a Soviet interpreter.[11] From 1991 to 1996, he worked at Saint Petersburg mayor's office, and became a chief of staff of the first deputy mayor, Vladimir Putin in 1994. From 1996 to 1997, Sechin served as a deputy of Vladimir Putin, who worked in the presidential property management department. From 1997 to 1998, Sechin was the chief of the general department of the main control directorate attached to the president, led by Putin. In August 1999, he was appointed head of the secretariat of the prime minister of Russia, Putin. From 24 November 1999 until 11 January 2000, Sechin was the first deputy chief of the Russian presidential administration.
Between 31 December 1999 and May 2008, he was deputy chief of Putin's administration. In May 2008, he was appointed by President Dmitry Medvedev as a deputy prime minister in a move considered as a demotion.[12] According to Stratfor, "Sechin acts as boss of Russia’s gigantic state oil company Rosneft and commands the loyalty of the FSB. Thus, he represents the FSB’s hand in Russia’s energy sector."[13]
On 27 July 2004, Sechin became the successful and influential chairman of the board of directors of JSC Rosneft, which swallowed up the assets of jailed tycoon Khodorkovsky's Yukos. He has additionally been president of Rosneft since May 2012. Khodorkovsky has accused Igor Sechin of plotting to have him arrested and plundering his oil company: "The second as well as the first case were organised by Igor Sechin. He orchestrated the first case against me out of greed and the second out of cowardice." [14] In 2008, Sechin allegedly blocked the replacement of the AAR consortium[clarification needed] with Gazprom in the TNK-BP joint venture.[15][b]
In 2008, Igor Sechin was involved with the BP oil company and did private negotiations with the BP's CEO Bob Dudley.[16] In 2008, Hugo Chávez said that the idea for Venezuelan nuclear energy program came from Sechin. Sechin negotiated deals on weapons and nuclear technology deliveries to Venezuela.[17][18] In July 2009, Sechin negotiated deals with Cuba that brought Russia into deep-water drilling in the Gulf of Mexico.[19]
Sechin also presides over the Board of Directors of the United Shipbuilding Corporation, and helped with negotiations with France over the purchase of four Mistral-class ships. Sechin argued that two ships should be constructed in Russia and two in France, as opposed to the initial offer that only one be constructed in Russia.[20] Piotr Żochowski, of the Polish Center for Eastern Studies, argued that "it cannot be ruled out that Sechin's stance on this issue results from his personal financial involvement in the St Petersburg shipbuilding industry".[20]
On 12 April 2011, Sechin resigned from the board of Rosneft upon President Medvedev's 31 March 2011 order for senior officials to resign from large companies.[21] After Vladimir Putin became President of Russia in May 2012, he later resigned as vice prime minister on 21 May 2012 and rejoined the executive board of Rosneft as chairman and became the executive secretary for the Russia Federation's commission on the development strategy of the fuel and energy complex and environmental safety (Russian: комиссии по вопросам стратегии развития ТЭКа и экологической безопасности) in June.[6][7]
In December 2014, a CNBC article noted that Sechin is "widely believed to be Russia's second-most powerful person" after President Putin.[22] In December 2017, The Guardian noted that Sechin "is widely seen as the second most powerful man in Russia after Vladimir Putin".[23]
The Steele dossier alleged that Sechin met with Carter Page in 2016 as a representative of the Donald Trump presidential campaign, and offered Trump the brokerage of a 19.6% private share in Rosneft in exchange for lifting sanctions imposed following the 2014 Russian intervention in Ukraine.[24][25][26][c] The 2019 Mueller Report did not corroborate those allegations, and neither Page nor Sechin were indicted with any crime.[27]
Sechin was instrumental in the arrest and trial of Putin’s former minister of economy, Alexei Ulyukaev, charged and found guilty of soliciting a bribe from Igor Sechin. The verdict was delivered after hearing testimony from Sechin in a closed trial,[28] and is another indicator, according to The Financial times, of the power wielded by Sechin in Russian politics.[29]
In November 2018, Sechin released a statement at the first Russian-Chinese Energy Business Forum in Beijing, about increased levels of cooperation between Rosneft and Chinese owned energy companies, citing “increased protectionism and threats of trade wars” as a reason for the cooperation.[30][31] Agreements of cooperation were signed between Rosneft and Chinese Hengli Group and include expansion in exploration as well as production and refining.[32]
Sanctions
On 20 March 2014, the United States government sanctioned Sechin in response to the Russian government's role in the ongoing unrest in Ukraine. The sanctions include a travel ban to the United States, freezing of all assets of Sechin in the United States and a ban on business transactions between American citizens and corporations and Sechin and businesses he owns.[33][34] Closely associated with Sechin, Rosneft is on the Sectoral Sanctions Identification (SSI) List.[35]
Personal life
Igor Sechin has been married twice. He divorced his first wife Marina Sechina (Russian: Марина Сечина) in 2011.[36] Marina increased her wealth after the divorce and made The Paradise Papers.[37][38][39][40] After 5 years of marriage, he divorced his second wife Olga Rozhkova (Russian: Ольга Рожкова) (b. 1990) in 2017.[41][42] Olga sailed on the 85.6-metre (281 ft) St Princess Olga which was built by Oceanco in 2012 and delivered in 2013.[43][44][45][46] After the divorce, the yacht was renamed Amore Vero ("True Love") in 2017.[42]
He has a daughter, Inga (b 1982). Inga married Dmitry Ustinov (b. 1979), a Russian intelligence agent and graduate of the FSB Academy[47] and son of former Prosecutor General and current Plenipotentiary Envoy to the Southern Federal District Vladimir Ustinov,[d] in 2003. Inga and Dmitry had a son on 4 July 2005.[48][49] She divorced him and, later, she married Timerbulat Karimov (Russian: Тимербулат Каримов) (b. 1974), a former investment banker and senior vice-president of VTB Bank from October 2011 until February 2014. He is on the board of directors for the Russian Copper Company (Russian: АО «Русская медная компания») which is the third largest in Russia and owned by Igor Altushkin. Since September 2015, she is the only owner of the Moscow based company Khoroshiye Lyudi or Good People (Russian: ООО «Хорошие люди»), which on 4 December 2015, became a 40% owner of the Novgorod Agropark (Russian: ООО «Новгородский агропарк»),[e] a turkey farm located in Veliky Novgorod.[50][51][52][53]
After the demotion of Vladimir Ustinov in 2006, Sechin reportedly arranged the appointment of Alexander Bastrykin, another ally of his, as Chairman of the Investigative Committee of the Prosecutor General's Office in 2007 in order to retain his influence.[54][55][56]
Notes
- ^ Other siloviki close to Sechin include Nikolai Patrushev, Alexander Bortnikov, and Viktor Ivanov.[5]
- ^ Alfa Group–Access Industries–Renova consortium (AAR) was led by Mikhail Fridman, Len Blavatnik, and Viktor Vekselberg through their companies, TNK, Sidanko, and Onako and their subsidiaries.[15]
- ^ Also, Page met with Igor Diveykin, a deputy chief for internal policy with interests about United States elections.[25]
- ^ In 2010, Vladimir Ustinov's daughter and Dmitry Ustinov's sister, Irina Dmitrievna Ustinova (Russian: Устинова Ирина Дмитриевна) lived in Sochi and is an assistant prosecutor in south Russia's Khostinsky district (Russian: Хостинский район), a district of the city of Sochi.[47]
- ^ The other owners are 40% by Ildus Fahretdinov through an Ufa "Investment Company" LLC (Russian: ООО «Инвестиционная компания») and 20% by Oleg Chernyavsky through the Moscow "Negotsiant TK" LLC (Russian: ООО «Негоциант ТК»).[50] In 2015, Russia produced nearly 150 thousand tons of turkey by slaughter weight. The Novgorod Agropark expects to produce from 22 to 30 thousand tons per year.
References
- ^ Berezanskaya, Elena (19 November 2015). 25 самых дорогих руководителей компаний: ежегодный рейтинг [The 25 Most Expensive Company Executives: Annual Rating] (in Russian). Forbes.ru.
- ^ The Guardian. 12 January 2017. Page 6.
- ^ Hahn, Gordon (21 July 2008). "The Siloviki Downgraded. In Russia's New Configuration of Power". Archived from the original on 31 December 2010. Retrieved 11 December 2016.
- ^ "Igor Sechin, head of Rosneft, is powerful as never before". The Economist. 15 December 2016. ISSN 0013-0613. Retrieved 27 July 2019.
- ^ a b Harding, Luke (21 December 2007). "Putin, the Kremlin power struggle and the $40bn fortune". The Guardian. Retrieved 11 February 2020.
- ^ a b И.Сечин вошел в список ста наиболее влиятельных людей мира: Глава "Роснефти" Игорь Сечин стал единственным россиянином, включенным в ежегодно составляемый журналом Time список из ста наиболее влиятельных в мире людей. [I. Sechin entered the list of the hundred most influential people in the world: The head of Rosneft, Igor Sechin, was the only Russian included in the list of the hundred most influential people in the world annually compiled by Time magazine.]. RBK (in Russian). 18 April 2013. Archived from the original on 27 March 2016. Retrieved 20 March 2020.
- ^ a b Топалов, Алексей (Topalov, Alexey); Орлова, Юлия (Orlova, Yulia) (22 May 2012). Директор-распорядитель: Игорь Сечин, вице-премьер в правительстве Владимира Путина, теперь возглавит госкомпанию «Роснефть» [Managing Director: Igor Sechin, Deputy Prime Minister in the government of Vladimir Putin, will now head the state-owned company Rosneft]. Gazeta.Ru (in Russian). Retrieved 20 March 2020.
{{cite news}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Hussain, Yadullah (10 March 2020). "Meet the Russian oil tycoon who likely triggered the Riyadh-Moscow oil war". Financial Post, a division of Postmedia Network Inc. Archived from the original on 20 March 2020. Retrieved 10 March 2020.
- ^ Rapoza, Kenneth (27 May 2019). "Russia's Largest Public Companies 2019: Sanctions No Match For Oil & Gas". Forbes. Retrieved 21 March 2020.
- ^ "Игорь Сечин: Путин везде берет его с собою" [Igor Sechin: Putin takes him everywhere with him]. news.ru (in Russian). 18 May 2005. Archived from the original on 8 June 2008. Retrieved 18 December 2018.
- ^ Сечин, Игорь. [Sechin, Igor] (in Russian). Lenta.ru.
- ^ A Lineup Aimed at Taming Siloviki Archived 31 July 2008 at the Wayback Machine. The Sunday Times. 15 May 2008.
- ^ Russia: The FSB Branches Out. Stratfor. 16 May 2008.
- ^ Jailed tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky ‘framed’ by key Putin aide. The Sunday Times. 18 May 2008.
- ^ a b Yenikeyeff, Shamil (November 2011). "BP, Russian billionaires, and the Kremlin: a Power Triangle that never was" (PDF). Oxford Energy Comment. Retrieved 24 November 2011.
- ^ TNK-BP Is Hurting Russia. Archived 7 December 2009 at the Wayback Machine.
- ^ Russia Offers Venezuela's Chavez Weapons, Nuclear Cooperation. Bloomberg. 25 September 2008.
- ^ Russia Plans Nuclear Plant in Venezuela. The New York Times. 10 October 2010.
- ^ Russia to drill for oil off Cuba. BBC News. 29 July 2009.
- ^ a b Piotr Żochowski, Russia's interest in the Mistral: the political and military aspects. Center for Eastern Studies website. 11 November 2010.
- ^ Сечин вышел из совета директоров "Роснефти" [Sechin resigned from Rosneft's board of directors]. BBC (in Russian). 12 April 2011. Retrieved 20 March 2020.
- ^ Peleschuk, Dan (24 December 2014). "Think it's just Putin who runs Russia? Guess again". CNBC. Retrieved 25 December 2014.
- ^ "Ex-minister's harsh jail sentence sends shockwaves through Russian elite". The Guardian. 15 December 2017. Retrieved 15 December 2017.
- ^ Bertrand, Natasha (27 January 2017). "Memos: CEO of Russia's state oil company offered Trump adviser, allies a cut of huge deal if sanctions were lifted". Business Insider. Retrieved 21 March 2020.
- ^ a b Isikoff, Michael (23 September 2016). "U.S. intel officials probe ties between Trump adviser and Kremlin". Yahoo News. Retrieved 21 March 2020.
- ^ Post staff (21 March 2016). "A transcript of Donald Trump's meeting with The Washington Post editorial board". Washington Post. Retrieved 21 March 2020.
- ^ Scarborough, Rowan. "Carter Page exonerated by Mueller report". Associated Press. Retrieved 4 May 2019.
- ^ "Rosneft chief Sechin gives testimony in $2mn bribe trial of ex-economy minister". RT International. Retrieved 15 January 2019.
- ^ "'We need to talk about Igor': the rise of Russia's most powerful oligarch". Financial Times (subscription required). 28 February 2018. Retrieved 15 January 2019.
- ^ "Protectionism, trade wars motivate Russia and China to step up cooperation — Rosneft head". TASS (in Russian). Retrieved 15 January 2019.
- ^ Ellyatt, Holly (29 November 2018). "Business leaders hail Russia's booming energy ties with China". www.cnbc.com. Retrieved 15 January 2019.
- ^ "Rosneft and Chinese Hengli Group signed a cooperation agreement, that includes E&P projects". www.worldoil.com. Retrieved 15 January 2019.
- ^ "Announcement Of Additional Treasury Sanctions On Russian Government Officials And Entities". US Department of the treasury.
- ^ "Executive Order - Blocking Property of Additional Persons Contributing to the Situation in Ukraine". The White House - Office of the Press Secretary.
- ^ Rapoza, Kenneth (23 June 2017). "Here's How Europe's Russian Sanctions Differ From Washington's". Forbes. Retrieved 29 April 2020.
- ^ Пузырев, Денис (Puzyrev, Denis) (22 September 2017). Роднички энергии: как связаны РАО ЕЭС, Марина Сечина и санаторий в Кашире: Связанный со структурами бывшей жены Игоря Сечина санаторий «Каширские роднички» стал причиной конфликта не из-за статуса лечебно-оздоровительного центра. В дальнем Подмосковье столкнулись интересы крупных энерготрейдеров [Energy springs: how RAO UES, Marina Sechina and the sanatorium in Kashira are related: The Kashirskiye Rodnichki sanatorium, connected with the structures of Igor Sechin’s ex-wife, did not cause the conflict because of the status of the health center. The interests of large energy traders clashed in the far suburbs of Moscow]. RBK (in Russian). Retrieved 20 March 2020.
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: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ "Paradise Papers". OCCRP. Retrieved 20 March 2020.
- ^ Shleynov, Roman (5 November 2017). "Wife of Putin's Number Two Man Gets Rich Quick". OCCRP. Retrieved 20 March 2020.
- ^ Шлейнов, Роман (Shleynov, Roman) (8 November 2017). Как бывшая супруга главы «Роснефти», не имевшая ни рубля дохода, сразу после развода обзавелась активами на миллиарды рублей и компанией на Каймановых островах [As the former wife of the head of Rosneft, who did not have a single ruble of income, immediately after the divorce, she acquired billions of rubles of assets and a company in the Cayman Islands]. Novaya Gazeta (in Russian). Retrieved 20 March 2020.
{{cite news}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Васильев, Иван (Vasiliev, Ivan) (6 November 2017). Марина Сечина назвала бредом информацию из «Райского досье»: По ее словам, она никогда не инвестировала в проекты австрийского бизнесмена Джулиуса Майнла [Marina Sechina called delirium information from the "Paradise dossier": According to her, she never invested in the projects of the Austrian businessman Julius Meinl]. Vedomosti (in Russian). Retrieved 20 March 2020.
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: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Игорь Сечин развелся во второй раз: Глава «Роснефти» Игорь Сечин развелся с супругой Ольгой, свидетельствуют данные базы мировых судов. Заявление о расторжении брака пара подала еще в апреле [Igor Sechin divorced for the second time: The head of Rosneft, Igor Sechin, divorced his wife Olga, according to the data base of the magistrates' courts. The couple filed for divorce in April]. RBK. 15 November 2017. Retrieved 20 March 2020.
- ^ a b Демьянова, Саша (Demyanova, Sasha) (17 November 2017). Игорь Сечин после развода переименовал роскошную яхту, носившую имя бывшей жены [Igor Sechin after the divorce renamed the luxury yacht that bore the name of his ex-wife]. Cosmopolitan (in Russian). Retrieved 20 March 2020.
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: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Anin, Roman (2 August 2016). "The Secret of the St. Princess Olga". OCCRP. Retrieved 20 March 2020.
- ^ Анин, Роман (Anin, Roman) (1 August 2016). Секрет «Принцессы Ольги». Текст статьи с опровержением по решению Басманного суда: Как руководитель «Роснефти» Игорь Сечин связан с одной из самых роскошных яхт в мире? [The Secret of Princess Olga The text of the article with a refutation by the decision of the Basmanny court: How is the head of Rosneft Igor Sechin connected with one of the most luxurious yachts in the world?]. Novaya Gazeta (№ 83) (in Russian). Retrieved 20 March 2020.
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: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ SYT Staff (30 October 2012). "85 Metre Oceanco on seatrials today". Superyacht Times. Retrieved 20 March 2020.
- ^ Janssen, Maarten (10 February 2013). "85.6 Metre Oceanco St. Princess Olga delivered". Superyacht Times. Retrieved 20 March 2020.
- ^ a b "Высокопоставленные наследники: Чем занимаются жены и дети российского премьера, его заместителей и полпредов президента?" [High Ranking Heirs: What do the wives and children of the Russian prime minister, his deputies and presidential plenipotentiaries do?]. ladno.ru (in Russian). 26 October 2010. Archived from the original on 15 April 2018. Retrieved 18 December 2018.
- ^ "Дочь Игоря Сечина родила от сына Владимира Устинова" [Igor Sechin's daughter gave birth to his son Vladimir Ustinov] (in Russian). newsru.com. 8 July 2005. Archived from the original on 1 July 2018. Retrieved 22 March 2018.
- ^ "Igor Sechin has grandson" (in Russian). Moskovskij Komsomolets. 8 July 2005. Archived from the original on 19 March 2007. Retrieved 22 March 2018.
- ^ a b "Семейный бизнес лучше банковского: Тимербулат Каримов покинул ВТБ" [Family business is better than banking: Timerbulat Karimov left VTB]. Kommersant. 6 February 2014. Retrieved 22 March 2018.
- ^ Osipov, Anton (3 October 2011). "Тимербулат Каримов стал старшим вице-президентом ВТБ" [Timerbulat Karimov became Senior Vice President of VTB] (in Russian). Vedomosti. Retrieved 26 March 2018.
- ^ "Тимербулат Каримов: Член совета директоров АО «Русская медная компания»" [Timerbulat Karimov: Member of the Board of Directors of JSC Russian Copper Company] (in Russian). Atlanty. Retrieved 22 March 2018.
- ^ Burlakova, Ekaterina (25 May 2016). "заинтересовалась производством индейки: Компания, совладельцем которой является Инга Каримова, дочь главы «Роснефти» Игоря Сечина, собирается инвестировать в производство индейки в Новгородской области объемом около 30 тыс. т в год" [Sechin's daughter company interested in turkey production: The company, co-owned by Inga Karimova, the daughter of the head of Rosneft Igor Sechin, is going to invest in the production of turkey in the Novgorod region of about 30 thousand tons per year] (in Russian). RBC. Retrieved 22 March 2018.
- ^ Бастрыкин, Александр [Bastrykin, Alexander] (in Russian). Lenta.ru.
- ^ Однокашник президента возглавит прокурорское следствие [Presidential classmate will lead the prosecution investigation] (in Russian). Kommersant.ru. 22 June 2007.
- ^ Stanovaya, Tatyana (22 June 2007). Сечинский комитет при Генпрокуратуре [Sechin committee at the Prosecutor General’s Office] (in Russian). Politcom.ru.