The court has seized a substantial sum, recovering 192 billion rubles from the former co-owner of Yugra Bank, Alexei Khotin, and the associated company Rus-Oil, according to DEA News reports. The development marks one of the most consequential financial actions tied to the collapse of a major regional lender in recent memory, reflecting ongoing efforts to address past embezzlement allegations and secure creditor restitution.
In 2019, the businessman faced detention in connection with an embezzlement case involving 7.5 billion rubles. This proceeding underscored a broader pattern of oversight and enforcement that targeted complex banking schemes and the misappropriation of assets tied to financial institutions during a turbulent period for the sector.
On September 28, 2018, Yugra Bank was declared bankrupt. Its assets stood at 34 billion rubles, while liabilities reached 194.8 billion rubles, a multiple that underscored the scale of the bank’s financial distress. Debts of legal entities were long overdue, with 133 debtors collectively owing 264 billion rubles. These figures illustrate how a once sizable bank spiraled into insolvency, impacting clients, counterparties, and the broader regional economy.
This case was a watershed moment for Russia’s insured deposits, representing the largest insured payout in the country’s history at the time. Depositors received approximately 173 billion rubles in compensation, highlighting the government’s capacity and resolve to protect ordinary savers amid bank failures. At the moment of license revocation, Yugra Bank ranked 32nd by asset size within the Russian banking system, based on Interfax CEA data, signaling its significant but ultimately unsustainable footprint in the market.
Prior to these events, Khotin had been listed among Russia’s wealthiest individuals. Forbes magazine placed him at 154th in its compilation of Russia’s richest, with an estimated fortune around 700 million dollars. This financial standing contrasted with the later legal and regulatory actions that reshaped perceptions of risk, governance, and accountability among private investors with substantial bank assets.
Biographical notes trace Khotin and his father, Yuri, to business activities in Moscow dating back to the 1990s. Their ventures extended beyond Yugra Bank to real estate and energy assets, including the Exillon Energy project and a stake in the Dulisma firm. In addition to financial holdings, these assets illustrate a diversified portfolio that linked banking interests with energy and property sectors, contributing to a broader narrative about localized economic influence and the varying risk profiles associated with such conglomerates. The family’s activities in Tyumen and Moscow reflect a period of rapid expansion and ambitious asset accumulation that later intersected with regulatory scrutiny and enforcement actions.