Russia seeks seizure of owner's stake in gold producer Uzhuralzoloto

By Anastasia Lyrchikova, Gleb Stolyarov and Alexander Marrow

MOSCOW (Reuters) -The office of Russia's Prosecutor General has filed a lawsuit seeking to transfer ownership of shares in gold producer Uzhuralzoloto owned by businessman Konstantin Strukov to the state, a Russian court said on Thursday.

Russian prosecutors have escalated the seizure of domestic assets through the courts this year, ruling that a leading grain trader, Moscow's Domodedovo airport, and strategic warehouse assets be handed to the state.

Moscow-listed shares in Uzhuralzoloto, or UGC, Russia's fourth-largest gold producer, were down 9.6% by 1414 GMT, having slumped around 17% earlier in the session. UGC is under U.S. sanctions.

Prosecutors, UGC and Strukov did not respond to requests for comment.

The Sovetsky District Court in the Urals city of Chelyabinsk told Reuters the deputy prosecutor general had filed a lawsuit against Strukov and several other people, accusing them of obtaining property "through corruption".

"On July 2, 2025, the request from the plaintiff's representatives, that is the deputy general prosecutor, to take measures to secure the claim, was granted by the court," the court said.

The court did not specify what interim measures had been taken. A hearing was scheduled for July 8.

Strukov owns a 67.85% stake in UGC. A company connected to Gazprombank bought a 22% stake late last year and the remaining 10% of shares floated on the Moscow Exchange in 2023 and 2024 in two public offerings.

Strukov, whose fortune is estimated by Forbes at $1.9 billion, was placed under sanctions by some Western countries, including Britain, which has said his work as a director of a company in the Russian extractives sector supported the Russian government.

Strukov was elected as a representative of the Chelyabinsk region's legislative assembly in 2000 and is now deputy speaker of the regional parliament.

Russian news agencies reported, citing a law enforcement source, that prosecutors were seeking to convert Strukov's entire stake in UGC to state property.

Russian investigators conducted searches at UGC offices this week in connection with criminal cases over violating environmental legislation and industrial safety laws, agencies reported.

STATE SEIZURE

Foreign companies have grappled with the risk of state seizure since Russia sent troops into Ukraine in February 2022, but Moscow, citing strategic stability and domestic security, has increasingly turned its attention to domestic assets too.

Prosecutor General Igor Krasnov, who has led the state's efforts to seize property worth 2.4 trillion roubles ($30.46 billion), last month said foreign companies that return to the country would be watched closely to ensure Russia benefited.

Yevgeny Nadorshin, an economist at PF Capital, said he expects Moscow to keep seizing assets.

"The process is likely to continue - appetite comes with eating and the state needs more money than last year and possibly more than in the previous three years of the 'special military operation'," Nadorshin told Reuters.

Russia's central bank said it would monitor the UGC case to ensure that minority shareholders' rights are protected.

"We, I really hope, have not heard that there are any direct threats at this moment, but of course, we need to monitor this situation very carefully so that retail shareholders' rights are not infringed," Vladimir Chistyukhin, the bank's first deputy governor, told reporters.

Economist Yevgeny Kogan said it was too early to tell whether Strukov's share would come under state control, suggesting that Gazprombank may want to increase its stake through buying shares from the state.

($1 = 78.8000 roubles)

(Reporting by Anastasia Lyrchikova, Alexander Marrow, Gleb Stolyarov, Darya Korsunskaya; additional reporting by Elena Fabrichnaya in St Petersburg;Editing by Andrew Osborn and Barbara Lewis)