Russia confiscates $1 billion worth of assets from former Daghestani state secretary Magomedov
Russian authorities have seized oil assets and property from the former State Secretary of Daghestan, Magomed-Sultan Magomedov, worth over ₽100 billion ($1.2 billion).
According to Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB), Magomedov illegally privatised strategic enterprises in the region and used administrative ties to transfer the property to affiliated structures.
The confiscated assets include the oil transshipment base Dagnefteprodukt (Daghestan Oil Product), also known as the LLC Kaspetrolservice, and the oil refinery Dagnotech, as well as additional property worth over ₽3 billion ($37 million).
According to the investigation, from 2001–2005, Magomedov used his official position to initiate the transfer of state-owned assets first to the ownership of the republic before being fully privatised at undervalued prices. It was at this point that the structures controlled by Magomedov, according to the FSB, obtained full control over dozens of land plots, petrol stations, and industrial facilities.
According to the FSB’s Public Relations Centre, more than 70 searches were conducted in Daghestan and Moscow in connection with the case. Security forces seized documents, large sums of cash, and luxury items allegedly acquired using illegally diverted funds.
A criminal case was initiated at the end of June on charges of fraud on a particularly large scale and legalisation of funds obtained by criminal means. Despite the seriousness of the charges, Magomedov was detained for only one day before being released under a travel ban.
The next day, the Sovetsky District Court of Makhachkala fully granted the claim of the Russian Prosecutor General’s Office to return the assets previously belonging to Kaspetrolservice and its affiliated companies to state ownership. According to the unified press service of the republic’s courts, the defendants did not contest the claim and acknowledged the facts presented in it.
The seized asset complex includes more than 360 facilities: pipelines, storage tanks, administrative buildings, petrol stations, and auxiliary infrastructure. A total of 67 land plots in key areas of Daghestan are listed.
The Magomedov case has become the most high-profile episode in a series of anti-corruption investigations conducted in Daghestan since 2018. That year, Russian President Vladimir Putin dismissed the republic's government, after which a large-scale purge among elites began.
From 1991 until privatisation in 2005, Magomedov served as head of the state enterprise Dagnefteprodukt. He remained general director of its successor private company until 2010. Between 2010 and 2013 he was speaker of the Daghestani Parliament, afterwards a regional MP. In November 2021, he was appointed state secretary of the republic, passing his parliamentary seat to his son.
Magomedov is also known as the founder of FC Anzhi, which in the 2010s attracted global football stars such as Roberto Carlos and Samuel Eto’o. He has been awarded the order ‘For Merit to the Republic of Daghestan’ and the medal ‘For Labour Valour’.
The Telegram channel SHOT, known for its connections with Russian security structures, claimed that Magomedov owns a four-storey mansion in Makhachkala, spanning nearly 4,000 m². The grounds include two additional houses. Magomedov also allegedly owns a 160 m² flat in Moscow.
His three daughters each reportedly possess 90 m² flats in Moscow, all in the same building, each valued at approximately ₽40 million ( $510,000). His son, who once played for FC Anzhi, reportedly owns a Moscow apartment worth around ₽140 million ($1.8 million).
According to public records, LLC Kaspetrolservice reported revenue of ₽1.5 billion ( $1.9 million) and a profit of ₽588 million ($7.5 million) in 2020. The company reorganised in 2021, with 52 % of the shares owned by Magomedov and the remainder held by his female relatives.
Elizaveta Chukharova
