Full name: Serdyukov Anatoly
Serdyukov Anatoly Date of Birth
8 January 1962
Serdyukov Anatoly Citizenship
Russia
Serdyukov Anatoly Professional field/official position
Minister of Defense of Russia (2007 – 2012)
Serdyukov Anatoly biography
SERDYUKOV Anatoly Eduardovich (b. 1962) graduated from the Leningrad Institute of Soviet Trade in 1984. Between 1985 and 1991, he was a sales manager at a furniture store in Leningrad. Up until 2000, he had been involved in the furniture business.
- In 2000, he became deputy head of the St. Petersburg inspection of Russia’s Ministry of Taxes and Duties.
- In 2003-2004, he served as the Minister of Taxes and Duties, then headed the Federal Tax Service.
- In 2007, he was appointed Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation, was also included on the Board of directors of Volgograd Khimprom, elected chairman of the Board of directors of Khimprom, and joined the Russian Security Council. In 2009-2011, he was Chairman of the Board of Oboronservis.
- In 2012, he was a witness in the Oboronservis case, instituted by the Supreme Internal Affairs Directorate of the Russian Federation after the discovery of major financial fraud in the sale of non-core military assets. The President of the Russian Federation dismissed him from the post of Minister of Defense.
- In 2013, the Supreme Internal Affairs Directorate of the Russian Federation initiated a criminal case against Serdyukov for the abuse of power (Article 285 of the Criminal Code). In the same year, the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation instituted criminal proceedings against Serdyukov. He was charged with negligence, which entailed the infliction of serious damage (part 1 of article 293 of the Criminal Code).
- In February 2014, the main military investigative department of the Investigative Committee of Russia decided to terminate the investigation against Serdyukov, as he was amnestied for the 20th anniversary of the Constitution of the Russian Federation, having been recognized as the “defender of the fatherland.” Since 2013, he has held various senior positions at Rostec Corporation. On May 8, 2019, he was elected Chairman of the Board of Directors of the United Aircraft Corporation.
Serdyukov Anatoly crimes
Violating human rights and freedoms, promoting the establishment of a dictatorship, widespread corruption, including cross-border one, ties to organized crime, shadow lobbying, obstructing the administration of justice and conducting a preliminary investigation.
In 2012, A. Serdyukov became a central figure in the corruption scandal when the investigating authorities discovered the facts of multibillion-dollar embezzlement in the Ministry of Defense and the Oboronservis commercial organization affiliated with it. It turned out that the Oboronservis enterprise, created during the reform of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation in 2008 to dispose of non-core assets and then redirect the proceeds to the needs of the army, served as a personal enrichment tool for the Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation and his close associates and business partners.
While leading the ministry, Serdyukov, along with his subordinate Evgenia Vasilieva (who was at that time the head of a department of the Ministry of Defense), purposely conducted the illegal sale of state property (real estate, land, and other assets) to their family members and close associates at low prices. Experts estimate that this caused 16.5 billion rubles in damage to Russia.
During the investigation, it was determined that he had a personal interest in the matter based on testimony from Ministry of Defense employees. Dmitry Mityaev, the former head of the legal service of MIRA LLC, testified that Serdyukov personally issued a directive and instructed the members of the Board of Oboronservis on how to vote on the sale of specific military property. Ekaterina Smetanova, the former head of the Expert Legal Support Center, also provided valuable evidence against the head of the Ministry of Defense. She selected buyers for the property of the Ministry of Defense sold at low prices.
According to experts and former Yukos employees, Anatoly Serdyukov had a decisive role in the attack against Yukos. The Vedomosti publication reported that in 2004, the Yukos case was the first project of Serdyukov as Minister of Taxes and Dues. During this time, tax authorities filed claims against the company for $27.5 billion. Witnesses also indicated that Serdyukov, through his involvement in the Yukos trial, sought to show his loyalty to Vladimir Putin.
Media reports also stated that Serdyukov, while holding top government positions, personally engaged in clandestine lobbying of the business interests of his associates. For instance, on November 6, 2012, Moskovsky Komsomolets published an article revealing that the state-owned enterprise Oboronenergosbyt was privatized. Anatoly Serdyukov personally pushed for a special government decree to grant the Oboronenergosbyt enterprise the status of the sole electricity supplier for the defense complex.
Despite abundant evidence of Anatoly Serdyukov's crimes against the state and individuals, the former defense minister never faced trial. The Investigative Committee reduced the severity of the criminal charges. Nonetheless, Serdykov was granted amnesty in honor of the 20th anniversary of the Constitution of the Russian Federation and was recognized as the “defender of the fatherland.” Independent experts believe this was due to his extensive connections within Putin’s inner circle. It is worth noting that, according to some experts, Anatoly Serdyukov's criminal prosecution may have been related to his relationship with Evgenia Vasilyeva (reported to be the sister of Dmitry Medvedev's wife), which could have conflicted with the interests of Kremlin clans and led to a redistribution of spheres of influence.
