Prosecutor General Alexander Gutsan has dismissed the senior official who spearheaded the Russian government’s wave of private asset seizures since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the newspaper Kommersant reported Wednesday, citing sources familiar with the matter.
The official, Sergei Bochkarev, headed the Civil and Judicial Department of the Prosecutor General’s Office. Under his direction, the government nationalized 6.5 trillion rubles ($81.45 billion) in private assets since 2022.
Bochkarev’s most high-profile targets included Moscow’s Domodedovo Airport, food manufacturer Makfa and gold miner YUGK.
Sources told Kommersant that Bochkarev’s “streamlined” approach to the seizure process inflated asset valuations in court filings, leaving federal authorities struggling to resell the properties at those prices. That reportedly “raised questions” among leadership about his handling of the cases.
Bochkarev’s removal also follows public criticism from Gutsan in May over the mismanagement of confiscated properties, which he warned was undermining efforts to return them to the market.
