Mikhail Abyzov

Mikhail Anatolyevich Abyzov (Михаил Анатольевич Абызов) is a manager in the Russian energy and engineering industry, He was the chairman of the board of directors of Russia's biggest engineering company, E4 Group.

Abyzov studied at the Department of Mechanics and Mathematics of Moscow State University, but never graduated.

In 1990, Abyzov set up his first company, Intershops, which sold Turkish consumer goods and then office equipment.

Most transactions in the 1990s were paid for with goods or debts through barter schemes because of a shortage of cash in Russia.

As a result of one of these transactions, Abyzov's company became the holder of a debt of the Novosibirsk Chemical Concentrates Factory.

In 1992, together with a fellow student of Bulgaria, Milen Mitsik, he set up a joint venture, MMB-Group, to sell Bulgarian products.

At the same time, the company set to work with the Defense Ministry and the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) thanks to the fact that Abyzov met a high-ranking executive of one of the law-enforcement agencies at a shooting range.

MMB-group supplied AvtoVAZ-made spare parts for the Main Internal Affairs Directorate of the city of Moscow.

The MIA helped Abyzov's company solve shipments problems — when a regular shipment was detained at the factory by the groupings that controlled it, a joint detachment of the Special Police Task Force (OMON) came flying in Togliatti to deal with the problem.

Through that transaction, Abyzov met a deputy of the State Duma in 1993, Ivan Starikov, representing Novosibirsk Region, who appointed Abyzov as his assistant.

Starikov introduced Abyzov to the then Governor of Novosibirsk Region, Vitaliy Mukha.

Through that new acquaintance, Abyzov's company, United Russian Fuel and Energy Company (ORTEK), managed to become the largest fuel supplier to Novosibirsk Region.

In 1995, Novosibirsk Region faced a shortage of fuel for the sowing season.

Abyzov suggested that fuel be supplied from Mozyr Oil Refinery (Belarus) upon the security of 19.5% of Novosibirskenergo shares.

In 1995, Alemar which serviced the accounts of Novosibirsk-based businesses suggested that the administration of Novosibirsk Region draw investors to Novosibirskenergo.

Novosibirsk Region transferred 35% of new shares of Novosibirskenergo to the company on the security of Alemar's promissory note.

But Alemar placed only 13% of the shares, with 22% remaining on its balance sheet.

Once he had become a co-owner of Novosibirskenergo, Abyzov “joined forces” with Alemar to control the energy company.

In 1997, Novosibirsk Region failed to pay for the fuel supplied, and the shares of Novosibirskenergo passed to Abyzov.

In 1998, Abyzov was appointed as deputy chairman of the board of directors of Novosibirskenergo.

The chairman of the board of directors was Dmitriy Zhurba, a co-owner of Alemar, a Novosibirsk-based investment company, and the second deputy chairman was Leonid Melamed, the founder of Alemar.

In 1998, Abyzov was appointed as the head of the Department of Investment Policy and Business Projects of RAO UES (Russian Joint-Stock Company “Unified Energy Systems”).

By 1999, Abyzov had increased his interest in Novosibirskenergo to 24.59% by purchasing minority shares (through Tantyema, a firm owned by Abyzov).

Melamed and Zhurba lent a hand to Abyzov.

In 1999, he became a deputy chairman of the management board of RAO UES.

Abyzov was introduced to Chubais, chairman of the management board of RAO UES, by Starikov.

As deputy chairman of the management board, Abyzov was responsible for changing the structure of payments for electricity from barter schemes to cash settlements, and, in addition, for fuel supply to the energy companies that were part of RAO UES.

Abyzov received his diploma of higher education in 2000 from the Sholokhov Moscow State Open Pedagogical University (now Sholokhov Moscow State University for Humanities) in 2000.

In 2000, the Russian General Prosecutor's Office charged the ex-governor of Novosibirsk Region Vitaliy Mukha with misfeasance under Article 286 of the Russian Criminal Code, and Leonid Nikonov, former head of the State Property Committee of Novosibirsk Region, with abuse of office (Article 285 of the Russian Criminal Code), considering that the Novosibirskenergo shares had been disposed of improperly.

The block of Novosibirskenergo share, the market value of which was up to $40 million, was valued at $570,000 for the transaction.

“As a result of those transactions, the state forfeited the right to participate in the management of a business entity operating in a strategic industry, the energy sector,” as it was set out in a statement signed by Valentin Simuchenkov, Deputy Prosecutor-General of the Russian Federation.

In 2001, the criminal case was closed because the statute of limitation had expired.

In 2002, the equity stake in Novosibirskenergo reflected on the balance sheet of Alemar was sold to a subsidiary of Novosibirskenergo, ZAO Sibirenergoinvest.

Thus, Abyzov became the sole controlling shareholder of Novosibirskenergo.

The law-enforcement agencies accused the company's management of understating the volume of electricity transmitted through the grids of GUP (State Unitary Enterprise) Novosibirskoblenergo in 2002, which resulted in the company incurring a loss of 72 million rubles.

In 2003, the Federal Security Service made seizures at Novosibirskenergo.

In 2004, the case was closed for the absence of the event of a crime.

In 2011, Novosibirskenergo was renamed to OJSC Sibeko.

In 2018, Abyzov sold the shares he owned in Sibeko to Siberian Generating Company owned by Andrey Melnichenko with whom he studied together at Physics and Mathematics Boarding School No. 18 at Moscow State University, for 32 billion rubles.

Abyzov was personally involved in negotiating the sale of the shares notwithstanding a ban on entrepreneurial activity that he was required to observe due to his position as Minister for Open Government Affairs of the Russian Federation.