Former Russian minister Mikhail Abyzov's combined sentence rises to 14 years in a second fraud case
A Moscow court has convicted former Open Government Minister Mikhail Abyzov of fraud in a second case and, taking his earlier conviction into account, set his combined prison sentence at 14 years, the Moscow Prosecutor's Office said. Prosecutors said Abyzov and two associates misled the state-owned Russian Venture Company into continuing to invest in the US solar firm Alion Energy, embezzling $5 million. Abyzov, who was already serving 12 years from a 2023 conviction, denied the charges and said he had lost his own money in the venture. He was fined 80.1 million rubles, barred from public office for three years and stripped of his state awards; the sentence can be appealed.
Key points
- A Moscow court convicted former minister Mikhail Abyzov of fraud in a second case on 11 November and set his combined sentence at 14 years.
- Prosecutors said he and two associates misled the state-owned Russian Venture Company over investments in the US solar firm Alion Energy, embezzling $5 million.
- Abyzov denied the charges, saying he lost his own money in the venture; he was also fined 80.1 million rubles and stripped of his state awards.
What happened
Abyzov was Russia's first minister for open government, appointed in 2012 under President Dmitry Medvedev, and held the post until it was abolished in 2018. He was arrested in 2019 and convicted in 2023 in a separate case over Siberian energy companies, receiving 12 years.
The second case concerned investments begun in 2012 by the Russian Venture Company, the state's venture fund, in Alion Energy. Two associates in the case were convicted in 2024 over the same events, according to Abyzov's own statement in court as reported by Kommersant.
What we know / what we don't know yet
What we know
- That the combined sentence is 14 years, with an 80.1 million ruble fine, a three-year office ban and state awards stripped, on the Moscow Prosecutor's Office announcement.
- That Abyzov denied the charges and was already serving 12 years from his 2023 conviction.
What we don't know yet
- The exact length of the new case's own sentence — Kommersant reports six and a half years; The Moscow Times said the figure was not immediately clear.
- Whether Abyzov will appeal — Kommersant reports his defence intends to; The Moscow Times said his lawyer had not indicated either way.
Claim by claim
Show all claims (5)
Why this label: The verdict is the prosecutor's office's own announcement, reported in the same terms by The Moscow Times and by Kommersant's reporting of the hearing.
On the ladder: a claim earns Verified from primary evidence, or from two independent sources that do not copy each other.
Why this label: The allegation is carried as the prosecution's case, which the court accepted in its verdict; it is reported in the same terms by The Moscow Times and Kommersant.
On the ladder: a claim earns Verified from primary evidence, or from two independent sources that do not copy each other.
Why this label: Abyzov's defence position as stated in court and reported by The Moscow Times; the verdict went against him, and his denial is carried as his position.
On the ladder: a claim earns Verified from primary evidence, or from two independent sources that do not copy each other.
Why this label: The 2023 verdict was reported at the time by Interfax from the courtroom and is restated in The Moscow Times' report of the new sentence.
On the ladder: a claim earns Verified from primary evidence, or from two independent sources that do not copy each other.
Why this label: These two figures rest on Kommersant's reporting alone in the coverage read; The Moscow Times said the length of the new case's own sentence was not immediately clear. They are carried as reported, not settled.
On the ladder: the evidence so far sits low — early, single or social sources. We publish the claim as a claim, never as fact.
Why it matters
Abyzov is one of the most senior former officials of the Medvedev era to be imprisoned, and his second conviction extends the reach of Russia's anti-corruption cases into the state venture funds that were meant to modernise the economy. The case also shows how a combined sentence can quietly lengthen a term: the headline figure rose by two years, on a new-case sentence reports put at six and a half.
Update history
No silent edits. Every change is written here, with its time.
- Latest
Published — the sentence and the fine are confirmed by the Moscow Prosecutor's Office announcement; the new case's own sentence length and any appeal are still to be settled.