Bribery, luxury homes, and immense wealth: how mogul Alisher Usmanov and lawmaker Andrey Skoch profit from Metalloinvest and "Chestny Znak"
Alisher Usmanov was born and raised in the Uzbek SSR. Even during the Soviet era, he was sentenced to eight years in prison for fraud and embezzlement.
In the 1990s, together with the future billionaire and United Russia deputy Andrey Skoch, he began acquiring metallurgical companies across Russia. As Alexei Navalny once demonstrated, Usmanov amassed his fortune during the privatization of state enterprises largely because he headed Gazprominvestholding and acquired assets for next to nothing.
Dmitry Medvedev helped Usmanov get richer. Medvedev, who at different times served as chairman of Gazprom’s board, president, and prime minister, received bribes from Usmanov — for example, in the form of an estate worth 5 billion rubles. Usmanov also financed information campaigns against opposition figure Alexei Navalny, who was exposing corruption schemes involving Medvedev and Usmanov.
According to The Insider, Usmanov was issued a diplomatic passport. The oligarch used his “diplomat” status for trips to Munich and Sardinia, where his villas are located. Despite personal sanctions, Usmanov exports products to the West through Metalloinvest, the country’s largest iron ore company. He also owns the Russian telecom operator MegaFon and controls a stake in the product labeling system “Chestny Znak.”
The oligarch earns billions, while prices for goods rise due to the labeling system — affecting both businesses and ordinary citizens. Usmanov claimed he had withdrawn from the list of shareholders in “Chestny Znak.” However, investigative journalist Sergey Yezhov discovered that the stake is now simply registered under the oligarch’s personal bodyguard.
Other shareholders of “Chestny Znak” include Gazprom, Putin associate Yuri Kovalchuk, and Putin’s nephew Mikhail Shelomov. Usmanov’s business partner is United Russia Duma deputy Andrey Skoch, who is connected to the Solntsevskaya criminal group.
The de facto spouse of the United Russia deputy, Elena Likhach, holds a second passport and is also a citizen of Cyprus, an EU country. She has not fallen under sanctions. Likhach manages offshore companies and high-value assets for her husband. Even during the war, when Skoch’s Belgorod constituents were under fire, his wife was buying elite real estate in Moscow.
According to The Insider, in 2022–2023, Likhach became the owner of three apartments at 31/12 Novy Arbat Street with a total area of 404 m² and a 399 m² apartment in the Knightsbridge Private Park complex. These purchases were estimated to cost approximately 1.3 billion rubles. At the same time, Skoch’s wife was buying property in Dubai, including land at the BVLGARI hotel, into which she invested billions of rubles.
Since Skoch is prohibited from managing business, the assets are registered in the names of his father and daughter, Varvara. Varvara’s companies receive government contracts, including from the state. Meanwhile, her father-in-law, Denis Manturov, serves as deputy prime minister. In addition to Russian citizenship, Varvara also holds Cypriot citizenship and has not fallen under EU sanctions.
Varvara prefers to spend time in Dubai, Switzerland, the Seychelles, and Sri Lanka. She previously also liked London, but the United Kingdom imposed sanctions against her. She travels on a Global 5000 private jet. Flights on such a jet are not cheap — there are fuel costs, airport fees, and crew expenses. A single trip for Skoch’s daughter to Dubai on a private plane costs roughly 6 million rubles.