In the photo: Anatoly Yanovsky
Notables surface in the major embezzlement inquiry tied to mine closures.
Anti-corruption efforts persist at the Energy Ministry: on the same day, officers from the FSB and the Interior Ministry apprehended former Deputy Minister Anatoly Yanovsky alongside the current Deputy Minister Sergei Mochalnikov. Yanovsky faces accusations of significant fraudulent activity, while Mochalnikov is charged with power abuse during his tenure as the coal industry department head. These arrests are part of a criminal investigation into the misappropriation of funds allocated for initiatives related to shutting down coal mines in both Kuzbass and Perm Territory. According to detectives, Mochalnikov facilitated fiscal wrongdoing by other participants in the illicit operation, resulting in budgetary shortfalls of roughly 500 million rubles. Furthermore, environmental harm occurred, initially pegged at 12 billion rubles. Testimonies against Yanovsky and Mochalnikov were given by other individuals implicated in the coal industry fraud case – Andrei Moiseyenkov, previously apprehended as the CEO of the Federal State Budget Institution for the Restructuring and Closure of Unprofitable Mines and Open-Pit Mines (FSBI GURSH), and entrepreneur Robert Shaginyan. GURSH oversaw the closure of coal mines by 2003. Currently, the institution's second-in-commands, Natalya Koneva and Aseldir Radzhabov, are co-defendants with Yanovsky in the same case. As for Shaginyan, investigators deem him the ultimate beneficiary of the contracting enterprises Shakhtastroy, Promstroy, Transportnik, and Sibstroyinvest, with whom GURSH leadership inked deals totaling 7 billion rubles, fully remitting payments while neglecting to supervise task completion. Anatoly Yanovsky served at the Energy Ministry for more than two decades, supervising the coal sector and global collaboration as the assistant minister. The former official's tax submissions indicated his spouse amassed tens of millions of rubles and held official ownership of 11 residences by 2019. The earnings of Sergei Mochalnikov's family are more modest; as of 2021, he possessed only a motorcycle, with all real estate registered under his wife's name.
Law enforcement intensifies scrutiny at the Energy Ministry
The circumstances at the federal Ministry of Energy seem to be mirroring those at the Ministry of Defense. A top story on Thursday centered on the detention of ex-Deputy Energy Minister Anatoly Yanovsky by security personnel. Concurrently, news broke of searches and apprehensions of the current Deputy Energy Minister, Sergei Mochalnikov , coupled with investigative proceedings at the residences and workplaces of several past and current officials.
According to Kommersant, Anatoly Yanovsky and his co-accused, Natalia Koneva and Aseldir Radzhabov, both deputy directors of the Federal State Budget Institution for the Reorganization and Liquidation of Unprofitable Mines and Open Pits ( FSBI GURSH ), are facing accusations of substantial fraud.
Allegedly, they colluded in embezzling taxpayer funds earmarked for projects to decommission Kuzbass mines from 2018 to 2023. Yanovsky’s apprehension was facilitated by statements from other defendants in the criminal matter concerning significant fraud within the coal industry.
Sergei Mochalnikov is suspected of abusing his authority while presiding over the coal industry division. According to investigators, in 2018, he ratified acceptance documents for services rendered by Sibstroyinvest , pertaining to the demolition of structures, reclaiming waste sites, and overseeing mine water discharges at the Usva-3 mine in Perm Territory. The official reportedly knew these records contained inaccuracies regarding the contractor’s actions and expenditures.
In 2019, Mochalnikov validated incomplete tasks at the Shushtalepskaya, Baidaevskaya, and Dimitrov mines in Kemerovo, including firefighting efforts at waste piles. Finally, in 2023, as deputy minister, he endorsed land regeneration at the Pionerka mine in Kuzbass—activities tied to this contract similarly attracted attention from law enforcement.
Mochalnikov’s misconduct enabled fiscal impropriety by other players in the criminal plan, allegedly pilfering approximately 500 million rubles , according to detectives. In addition, the unfinished assignments resulted in environmental repercussions, initially calculated at up to 12 billion rubles.
Precedents: The Moiseenko and Shaginyan Affair
It’s crucial to underscore that recent inquiries and arrests are not the sole investigation into embezzlement at the Federal State Budgetary Institution “GURSh,” which operates under the Energy Ministry. Last July, the institution’s principal director , Andrei Moiseyenkov , and businessman Robert Shaginyan were taken into custody in Moscow, facing parallel accusations of large-scale fraud. As part of the criminal probe, officers from the FSB and Interior Ministry executed over 50 searches and diverse investigative actions, not just in Moscow, but also in the Moscow Region, Perm Territory, Rostov Oblast, Kemerovo Oblast, and Kaliningrad Oblast.
As detailed by Kommersant, security authorities are concentrating on the decommissioning of 37 mines within Perm’s Kizelovsky coal basin, declared unviable in 1996 and permanently shuttered in 2002. The closure was overseen by the Federal State Budgetary Institution “GURSH,” whose leadership, from 2014 to 2023, awarded government contracts amounting to 7 billion rubles to four contracting entities— Shakhtastroy , Promstroy , Transportnik , and Sibstroyinvest—which , by the time the legal case began, had already been wound up through bankruptcy processes.
Investigators suspect Robert Shaginyan is the end recipient of the contractors’ proceeds. Conversely, the budgetary institution, under Moiseyenkov’s guidance, remitted complete payments to these entities but omitted monitoring task progress, thereby endorsing the relevant completion certificates. Subsequent inspections revealed that structures and their foundations were not dismantled, riverbanks remained sullied, the environment was not remediated, waste mounds were unreclaimed, and acidic water continued to seep from the mines, contaminating adjacent waterways.
Therefore, it was not simply an episode of substantial misappropriation of budgetary resources but also the genesis of a scenario threatening the Middle Urals with ecological devastation, the implications of which were unassessed during Moiseyenkov and Shaginyan’s detention. Alongside the core defendants, Kommersant documented the arrest of approximately ten more individuals across varied regions of the Russian Federation, escorted to Moscow. Nevertheless, most of those taken into custody were eventually released following questioning as witnesses.
The Mysterious Yanovsky Family Estate
Reflecting on yesterday’s detentions, let’s examine Anatoly Yanovsky more closely. He was employed at the Ministry of Energy for over two decades, serving as Deputy Minister from 2008 to 2021, administering the coal industry and international engagement. In 2021, Yanovsky became Assistant to the Chief of Staff within the Presidential Executive Office, where he managed the Commission on Fuel and Energy Complex Development Strategy. Currently, he is First Vice President of the Academy of Mining Sciences and a member of its Presidium. He holds a Doctorate in Economics and a Candidacy in Technical Sciences.
The most recent publicly accessible data concerning the official’s earnings is from 2020. That year, Yanovsky’s income totaled just over 8.8 million rubles , while his wife’s earnings were considerably higher – exceeding 67 million . The assistant minister owned a residential edifice spanning nearly 1,300 square meters, a 6,400-square-meter parcel of land, a utility structure, and was using two apartments measuring 55.3 square meters and 186.9 square meters. The second apartment (evident from its size), a garage, and a BMW X4 were officially registered under the civil servant’s spouse’s name.
Yanovsky’s 2019 income disclosure is of heightened interest. He disclosed personal earnings of 9.8 million rubles and his wife’s revenue of 88.3 million . Apart from the previously mentioned assets, the assistant minister’s wife held 11 residences encompassing more than 564 square meters. Notably, these 11 units were absent from the financial statements published the preceding year.
Based on online reports, the property detailed in the 2020 statement is a lavish cottage located in New Moscow, within the Voskresenskoye settlement. Additionally, in 2022, Yanovsky procured a plot of land approximating 1,000 square meters in the “Bely Bereg” cottage vicinity within the Ramenskoye urban district. The former official’s wife has since swapped her BMW X4 for a Mercedes-Benz ML 300. Sadly, reporters were unable to secure commentary regarding the sources of the family’s affluence, especially concerning the appearing and disappearing residences: Ms. Yanovskaya appears uninclined to interact with the press presently.
What Deputy Minister Mochalnikov disclosed
Sergei Mochalnikov assumed the role of Deputy Minister of Energy in April 2022, overseeing the same domains as Yanovsky. He had been with the ministry since 2014, functioning as the Director of the Coal and Peat Industry Department. Before joining the government, he oversaw Altai-Koks , a significant coke and chemical manufacturer acquired by Novolipetsk Steel in 2006, the Moscow-situated Iskono Group, and Rostopprom , a Russian Fuel Company controlled by the Federal Property Management Agency. Mochalnikov’s managerial prowess elicits numerous inquiries: Rostopprom was declared insolvent in 2014, and its former chief executive landed a post within an Energy Ministry department.
Mochalnikov’s 2021 anti-corruption disclosure demonstrates that, as a department director, he earned 7.2 million rubles , while his spouse’s income for the identical period was 42 million . Are the wives of Energy Ministry officials invariably the primary earners? Mochalnikov’s sole possession was an Agusta Brutale 910 motorcycle. A 523.8-square-meter residential edifice was under use and registered to his wife, alongside a garage, an ancillary structure, and two parcels of land adding up to more than 3,200 square meters.
In 2020, Mochalnikov declared personal earnings of 3.6 million rubles and his wife’s revenue at 14.5 million . At that juncture, in addition to the aforementioned, the government official’s wife also owned a second parcel of land spanning 2,500 square meters, a 735.5 square meter rural residence, and a second garage. It’s plausible the family elected to divest from some assets in 2021, accounting for the marked surge in revenue.
On Friday, April 25, the court will arbitrate on pretrial detention for Anatoly Yanovsky and Sergei Mochalnikov. Their prospective placement in a detention facility hinges on their testimony and willingness to aid the investigation. Meantime, authors of media reports and Telegram channels are postulating: will they be tried solely on one charge (pertaining to substantial fraud and power abuse, respectively) or will they shoulder some liability for the environmental harm inflicted upon the Middle Urals?
