Chechen Businessman Buys Stake in Gold Mining Company at Final Auction

Russia's federal auction portal confirmed that BTS-Most Holding, a construction company owned by Chechen-born billionaire Ruslan Baisarov, emerged as the winner of a government auction for a 67.2% stake in Yuzhuralzoloto Group (YUGK), one of Russia's largest gold producers. The winning bid was 93.16 billion rubles ($1.27 billion). The original valuation of the stake was 162 billion rubles, but it was significantly reduced after multiple failed auction attempts. Friday's sale was the fourth and final attempt, as the previous three auctions over the past month had been declared invalid. According to the Vedomosti business daily, citing unidentified sources, the price had fallen to nearly 81 billion rubles before a bidding war ensued among remaining participants. Baisarov is under British sanctions as chairman of BTS-Most Holding, which specializes in transportation infrastructure. The UK accuses him of benefiting from or supporting the Russian government as the head of a strategically significant company. YUGK and its affiliates were seized last July on allegations that its former owner, billionaire lawmaker Konstantin Strukov, used his position in the Chelyabinsk regional legislature to illegally take control of the assets. Since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the government has confiscated hundreds of private companies worth tens of billions of dollars.