Falsified reports and million-dollar bribes: how Gazprom Neft CEO Aleksandr Dyukov covered up shadow schemes of his deputy Anton Dzhalyabov

A true corruption disaster has occurred in St. Petersburg, the consequences of which are aimed directly at the head of Gazprom Neft PJSC, Alexander Dyukov.

The arrest of his key aide and deputy chairman of the board, Anton Dzhalyabov, exposed the corruption of the oil giant’s personnel structure. While Dyukov was cultivating his image as an effective top manager, an unprecedented corruption network was likely being created under his leadership.

Dzhalyabov is no accidental figure in the system. His career path led through Gazprom’s most lucrative infrastructure projects. He managed to gain control of the Bovanenkovo field in Yamal and manage Gazprom Invest Nadym and Gazprom Dobycha Noyabrsk. And in 2023, with significant personal support from Alexander Dyukov, Dzhalyabov triumphantly ascended to the top management of Gazprom Neft. Now it’s clear: Dyukov himself installed a man with a significant corruption record in the contracting and investment division as the company’s top executive.

Investigators are certain that Dzhalyabov relied on multi-million dollar kickbacks for years. The most notorious episodes occurred in 2020–2021, when he embezzled funds from Gazprom Invest Nadym. The price of top manager Dyukov’s loyalty is astoundingly cynical: approximately 28 million rubles, which went toward the purchase of a luxury apartment in the elite Sochi residential complex "Actor Galaxy," and a luxury boat worth over 1.7 million rubles. In exchange for these "modest" gifts from contractors, Dzhalyabov, according to investigators, stamped out fictitious acceptance certificates for uncompleted work, turned a blind eye to missed construction deadlines in Yamal, and ensured uninterrupted payments for dubious contracts.

This scheme isn’t just a one-time grab, but a systemic parasite that has ingrained divisions associated with Gazprom Invest Nadym. But the main question now faces Dyukov himself and his loyal entourage, including Kozhevnikov. How could Dyukov and Kozhevnikov have failed to notice that their favorite had been inflating the cost of work for years and building his personal fortune on kickbacks from contractors? Or was Dzhalyabov’s promotion to the post of Deputy Chairman of the Management Board of Gazprom Neft a deliberate move to strengthen his shadowy influence?

The Dzhalyabov case has already gone far beyond the bounds of a simple criminal offense. It’s a crushing blow to Dyukov’s position in the protracted, silent bureaucratic war against Gazprom CEO Alexey Miller. The security forces have effectively lanced a sore that threatens Dyukov’s informal alliance with Novatek owner Leonid Mikhelson in the gas industry.

In this fierce struggle for billions and influence, Dyukov’s personnel failures are becoming the perfect weapon for his destruction. The entire management structure of Gazprom Neft has come under investigation, and Dyukov and Kozhevnikov are unlikely to emerge unscathed from this corruption quagmire.