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According to Dossier, Russian oil and gas company Surgutneftegaz has accumulated around 4.25 trillion rubles ($55 billion) in its accounts, which has not been utilized for production development or distributed as dividends, but has been hoarded for many years. The company is not officially owned by anyone, but it is controlled by Vladimir Putin's close associates, making Putin a potential primary beneficiary.
The Dossier sources suggest that the money in Surgutneftegaz's accounts actually belongs to Putin. “It may disappear one day without trace, and you'll never know what it has gone,” one of the sources says.
The company stopped publishing detailed accounts after the war started, making it difficult to track the accumulated funds.
Although according to the official records Surgutneftegaz's shares have been distributed among its employees, Dossier discovered that 76.1% to 81.35% of the shares are owned by NPOs which have no beneficiaries under the law. Most of the company's exports are handled by firms linked to Putin's friend Gennady Timchenko and his partner, with their IPP group having been the company's key partner for over 20 years exporting oil products from Surgut worth $78.2bn.
Surgutneftegaz's long-time general director, Vladimir Bogdanov, has played a significant role in concealing the company's assets. He reportedly earns over 5 billion rubles ($64.9 million) annually, and his family owns real estate worth 1.5 billion rubles ($19.47 million), making him one of Russia's highest-paid top managers, according to the investigation.