The Russian government has naturalized Yuzhnouralzoloto (Nam Ural Gold Company) - the country's third largest gold mining company, controlled by billionaire Konstantin Strukov, Vice Chairman of the Chelyabinsk Regional Legislative Council and a member of the ruling party supporting the Kremlin.
Last week, the Federal Security Service (FSB) launched a raid on the company's headquarters and the mines related to Mr. Strukov in Chelyabinsk.
Prosecutors allege that Strukov took advantage of his government position to illegally gain control of Yuzhuralzoloto, the company he led before entering politics.
After that, Strukov restructured it into a public joint stock company Yuzhuralzoloto Group of Companies (YUGK), then transferred ownership to relatives, including his daughter Alexandra Strukova - a Swiss national.
Although the company recorded a revenue of up to 25 billion rubles (about 320 million USD) from the production of 10.6 tons of gold last year, Yuzuralhnozoloto still reported a net loss of up to 7.2 billion rubles (about 90 million USD), raising doubts about governance capacity and financial transparency.
A law enforcement source told Kommersant that Yuzhnouralzoloto has been involved in six fatal work accidents in recent years.
Meanwhile, RBC revealed that the FSB raids also stemmed from allegations of serious environmental violations at gold mines in Plastovsky and Etkulsky districts.
However, many analysts believe that the above moves are part of the Kremlin's broader strategy to reclaim strategic assets in the hands of the state.
In the context of Russia facing great economic pressure due to the conflict in Ukraine, industries related to natural resources are becoming the top target of nationalism.
In a report to President Vladimir Putin in March, Prosecutor General Igor Krasnov said the companies had been nationwide with a value of 2.4 trillion rubles ($30 billion).
In 2024 alone, the Russian government took over nearly 70 enterprises with total revenue exceeding 807.6 billion rubles (10.2 billion USD) and an asset value of more than 544.7 billion rubles (6.9 billion USD).
On July 6, the world gold price was listed at 3,335.9 USD/ounce, up 66.2 USD/ounce compared to the closing price of the previous trading session. The Russian Central Bank said that as of March 2025, Russia's gold reserves were at 2,336 tons.
