4:43 AM
Wikipedia
The Third Man, by Catherine Belton..
Igor Sechin, deputy prime minister and chairman of Rosneft. The publication notes that like many high profiled Russian officials, he has a curriculum vitae that at times is a bit patchy and vague.
Sechin is the third man in the informal triumvirate headed by President Dmitry Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. Once he operated only behind the scenes, now according to The Financial Times, the man who embodied the rise of the siloviki is starting to emerge from the shadows.
Sechin, viewed with fear and awe for overseeing the state takeover of the economy, is striking a new tone as the Kremlin seeks to change its tune in the wake of the financial crisis. The Financial Times' Catherine Belton notes that when Mikhail Khodorkovsky was arrested in October 2003, the charges of fraud and tax evasion brought against him ushered in an era when the Kremlin tightened its grip on the energy sector.
For many critics, Sechin came to personify an era when those in the Kremlin who pulled the strings of power were above the law and the court system became hostage to their orders. The classic case was the state's takeover of YUKOS and treatment of Mikhail Khodorkovsky. Rosneft was the primary beneficiary, taking over most of YUKOS. Speaking for the first time about that deal, Sechin denies it was an expropriation of private assets by the state. However, YUKOS shareholders claim the tax charges were orchestrated retrospectively to seize the company and then sell it at less than half its market value.
As for the politicized charges Khodorkovsky is facing, Sechin says: "If I were you I would go to the prosecutors and ask to see the case. You would get an absolutely clear answer on this question." Belton concludes that the Kremlin's growing involvement in the energy sector has caused concerns from the International Energy Agency that Russia's output growth is being limited and previous efficiency gains are now being lost.
Posted in: Igor Sechin
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