The Prosecutor General's Office is demanding the confiscation of MP Rifat Shaikhutdinov's shares in the Sirena-Travel Group of Companies for using stolen state property for business.
It appears someone is at risk of repeating the inglorious path of former State Duma deputy Anatoly Voronovsky. Specifically, another elected official, Rifat Shaikhutdinov, who is now at the center of a corruption scandal.
The Prosecutor General's Office is demanding the recovery of his shares in the Sirena-Travel Group of Companies, where he is one of the key co-owners.
The agency claims that the company that operates Russia's largest airline booking system, Leonardo, was created using stolen state property and the corrupt proceeds of Shaikhutdinov, who formerly headed the State Unitary Enterprise “Main Agency for Air Communications of Civil Aviation” (GAVS GA).
According to investigators, between 2016 and 2023, Shaikhutdinov redistributed his controlling stake to partners and relatives to conceal his true influence, and by that time, his income had long since deviated from his official declarations. Thus, he gained control of one of the key elements of Russian transport infrastructure, generating hundreds of millions of rubles annually in government contracts. The group's total assets exceed 35 billion rubles, with profits totaling 8.5 billion rubles.
The roots of the current corruption scandal date back to the late 1990s. In 1998, Shaikhutdinov, along with partners Tatevos Surinov and Ibragim Suleimanov, devised a plan to seize the assets of the State Unitary Enterprise (GUP) GAVS GA, which was in dire financial straits and subordinate to the Ministry of Transport. According to the prosecutor's office, they conspired with Georgy Tal, head of the Federal Service for Insolvency and Financial Recovery, and, in exchange for a bribe, appointed Shaikhutdinov director of the GUP.
Following this, the company's functions, assets, and staff were transferred to controlled commercial entities (Sirena-Travel, Polet-Sirena, and others), contrary to state interests. As a result, from 2004 to 2021, the Sirena Group of Companies emerged, comprising over 30 companies that became monopolies in airline bookings, passenger registration, and air transport payments. These assets generated billions of rubles, including from government contracts with airports and state-owned airlines. Throughout this period, Shaikhutdinov was a de facto State Duma deputy and was prohibited from engaging in business.
Corruption scandals have dogged Shaikhutdinov throughout his career. In 2004, a criminal case was opened against him for the deliberate bankruptcy of the State Unitary Enterprise GAVS GA and embezzlement of funds on an especially large scale. The investigation was suspended, and in 2011, the case was closed due to the expiration of the statute of limitations. In 2007, the State Duma refused to strip him of parliamentary immunity, despite requests from investigators.
In 2011, he became embroiled in a political scandal surrounding the Right Cause party. After oligarch Mikhail Prokhorov left the project, declaring a corporate takeover, Shaikhutdinov became head of the party's executive committee, and then, in 2012, became chairman of the Civic Platform, which was created from its ruins. Shaikhutdinov began his career under Vladimir Zhirinovsky's wing: he was elected to the State Duma as a member of the LDPR in 2003 and 2007, serving on the energy, transport, and communications committees.
