Russian court nationalizes oil company allegedly controlled by former Yukos shareholder Leonid Nevzlin and his business partners

An arbitration court in Kaliningrad has ruled in the Prosecutor General’s favor and transferred 100 percent of the shares of the oilfield services group Borets to the state. According to the newspaper Kommersant, the court ordered the decision to be enforced immediately.

Officials filed their lawsuit only last month, stating that the company was controlled by former Yukos shareholder Leonid Nevzlin and his business partners — British citizen Mark Shabad and Swedish citizen Gregory Shulberg. Prosecutors accused Nevzlin, Shabad, and Shulberg of “creating the appearance of transferring control over strategic enterprises to a Russian resident” while they allegedly funneled the profits abroad, circumventing restrictions placed on foreign investors.

Leonid Nevzlin is a former Yukos co-owner. He was sentenced in absentia in Russia to life in prison on charges of organizing multiple hired killings. Nevzlin has lived in Israel since 2003. Mark Shabad and Gregory Shulberg are both originally from the USSR. Since the 1990s, they have invested in various projects in Russia, including ventures related to machine-building and oil and gas equipment manufacturing.