Russia sells stake in seized top gold miner for $1.3 billion
Russia sold a top gold miner that it seized from a billionaire last year, though only after multiple attempts and for about half the price it originally sought.
Moscow-based BTS-Most Holding will acquire a 67.2% stake in Yuzhuralzoloto PJSC and its affiliated companies after winning a Dutch auction with a bid of 93 billion rubles ($1.3 billion), the state-run Tass news service reported Friday, citing auction disclosures.
The authorities had failed to attract bidders in previous attempts to sell the asset, which was initially offered at a starting price of 162 billion rubles.
The deal underscored the difficulties Russia is facing in selling businesses after seizing billions of dollars worth of assets from local companies over the past year, citing reasons ranging from corruption and illegal acquisition to having dual citizenship.
A Dutch auction is a type of sale in which the seller gradually lowers the asking price until a buyer agrees to purchase the asset.
BTS-Most Holding is affiliated with Chechen-born businessman Ruslan Baisarov, whose assets span coal mining and transport infrastructure, according to the Kommersant newspaper.
Yuzhuralzoloto, which operates in Russia’s Chelyabinsk region in the Urals, produced 385,800 troy ounces of gold in 2025, making it one of the top five Russian miners. It was seized last year from tycoon Konstantin Strukov, whose family owned the miner for decades.
Strukov, 67, is a member of the ruling United Russia party and a long-time deputy in the Chelyabinsk regional parliament. In 2021, President Vladimir Putin awarded Strukov a second-class Medal of the Order “For Merit to the Fatherland,” a significant state honor typically given to senior officials and business leaders for contributions to Russia’s economy and public service.
But prosecutors last year accused him of illegally gaining control over the asset while holding public office, a claim upheld by a court.
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