Platon Lebedev who is he? Platon Lebedev decided to get into the international investment business. A court case with political overtones

The name of Platon Lebedev became known to a wide mass of Russians during the scandal that broke out over the Yukos oil company, led by Mikhail Khodorkovsky. As a member of the board of this company, Lebedev, together with Khodorkovsky, was accused of a number of thefts, huge tax evasion and other crimes. In 2003, he was sentenced to 14 years in prison and served his sentence in colonies in the North. In January 2014, Lebedev was released early. Platon Lebedev's wife, Natalya, did not wait for her husband to return, because while in prison, he divorced her and married another woman.

Lebedev married Natalya Emyasheva in 1977. The family already had two children growing up when Lebedev became a co-owner of YUKOS and a manager of the company’s shares. They lived in the elite village of Zhukovo near Moscow, next to Khodorkovsky’s family. Outwardly, their life, according to Natalya Gennadievna, was not distinguished by external splendor: she did not have diamonds or expensive fur coats. When the trial began in the company's case, Natalya invariably appeared in the courtroom with someone close to her: her husband's twin brother, daughter Lyudmila or son Mikhail. She did not contact the press and behaved with restraint, but she was sincerely worried about her husband. After his imprisonment, Natalya Lebedeva visited Plato more than once in a camp above the Arctic Circle, in the northern village of Kharp.

One of the visits of Lebedev’s wife took place on the day of his 49th birthday. Natalya even shared her hopes to give him the joy of meeting his daughter that day, she was worried about his health, undermined by the harsh climate, and was glad that she was able to give warm things to her husband. This was in 2005. And already in 2006, it turned out that Lebedev insisted on divorcing his wife in order to register a marriage with a young friend who had two daughters from him - Masha and Dasha. Platon Leonidovich's common-law wife's name was Maria Cheplagina and, at the time of his arrest, their eldest girl was one and a half years old, and the youngest was only a few days old. Only the legal spouses of prisoners are allowed into places of detention, and Lebedev really missed his beloved and decided to divorce in order to see her.

In the divorce application, Lebedev wrote that since 2001 he has not maintained a marital relationship with his ex-wife and considers it pointless to continue being married to her. After this whole story became public, reports appeared that Maria was present at the trial of her loved one and they looked at each other through the bars, having no chance to talk. By the way, there is something in common between the two wives of Platon Leonidovich: they are similar to each other, as noted by one of the witnesses. Whether Lebedev's announcement of divorce was unexpected for Natalya and whether she knew about her husband's relationship with another woman - history is silent, but it made a strong impression on the public. All financial issues with the ex-wife were settled amicably, and the scandal expected by ill-wishers did not happen.

When Maria and Plato were united in marriage, without any pompous ceremonies, only in the presence of lawyers, they got the opportunity to see each other. Plato celebrated his fiftieth birthday in the company of another wife, having received permission to have a first three-day date with her. Platon Lebedev’s new wife also began efforts for her husband’s early release and, testifying in one of the many trials of her husband, once even provided a letter from her nine-year-old daughter Masha to her father, moving the female part of the audience to tears. Through the efforts of lawyers, Lebedev’s stay in the camps was reduced by a total of three and a half years. In the winter of 2014, Maria Lebedeva Lebedeva finally saw her husband released from prison. True, one of the first photographs of the reunited lovers was taken by the ubiquitous journalists at a rather sad event: a month later, at the funeral of Boris Nemtsov. Later, taught by sad experience, Lebedev forbade journalists from attending the funeral of his granddaughter Diana, who died in Switzerland in November 2016.

Co-founder of the MENATEP bank (Moscow), former chairman of the board of directors of the MENATEP group, which manages the shares of OJSC NK YUKOS. In 2003, he was arrested on suspicion of fraud, in 2005 he was sentenced to eight years in prison under the so-called " Yukos case.

Platon Leonidovich Lebedev was born on November 29, 1956 in Moscow. In 1981 he graduated from the Moscow Academy of National Economy named after Plekhanov. From 1981 to 1989, he headed the economic planning department of the Zarubezhgeologiya association, a foreign trade structure of the USSR Ministry of Geology.

In 1987, he met Mikhail Khodorkovsky and, together with him and Sergei Monakhov, organized the Center for Intersectoral Scientific and Technical Programs at the Frunzensky District Committee of the Komsomol. At the end of 1987, the Center's management created the state-cooperative association "Intersectoral Scientific and Technical Programs" ("MENATEP").

In December 1988, on the initiative of Khodorkovsky, the Commercial Innovation Bank for Scientific and Technological Progress (CIB NTP) was created. Former colleagues invited Lebedev to this structure. Subsequently, during re-registration in 1990, the bank was renamed Bank MENATEP.

Lebedev became one of the co-founders of the bank. From 1991 to 1995, he was president of the bank (in this capacity he conducted a number of financial transactions in Switzerland and other offshore zones), then became deputy chairman of the board of the industrial holding Rosprom.

In 1996, Lebedev became deputy chairman of the board of the Yukos oil company; from 1997 to 1999, he acted as deputy chairman of the board of NK YUKOS and president of YUKOS RM (YUKOS's division for oil refining and sales of petroleum products). He served as Chairman of the Board of Directors of the international financial group MENATEP and manager of shares of OJSC NK YUKOS.

In December 2002, he was elected chairman of the board of a banking holding company created on the basis of the international financial group MENATEP, the Trust and Investment Bank and the MENATEP SPb bank.

In February 2003, Forbes magazine included Lebedev in the list of the richest people in the world. According to the magazine, by 2003 Lebedev's personal fortune reached $1 billion. By that time, Lebedev owned about 7 percent of the shares of the MENATEP group, and he managed the personal stakes of the top managers of the Yukos Oil Company (amounting to about 61 percent of the authorized capital of the oil company).

On July 2, 2003, Lebedev was detained in the Vishnevsky hospital on suspicion of theft of 20 percent of the shares of the Murmansk OJSC Apatit, owned by the state, in the amount of 283 million 142 thousand dollars. The basis for initiating a criminal case and detaining Lebedev were the materials of an inspection conducted by the Prosecutor General’s Office at the request of State Duma deputy, deputy chairman of the Committee on Economic Policy and Entrepreneurship Vladimir Yudin.

The arrest was made after Lebedev, citing a complication of a disease of the vegetative-vascular system, did not appear for questioning at the Prosecutor General's Office. His lawyer told the investigator that Lebedev needed treatment, but was ready to answer all questions. According to some reports, Lebedev was handcuffed right in the hospital. After this, the MENATEP press service issued a statement that Lebedev was in such a state that he could hardly understand the questions asked of him.

On the same day, the Basmanny Court of Moscow issued a warrant for Lebedev's arrest, and the prosecutor's office brought charges against another YUKOS employee (Alexey Pichugin, who headed the fourth department of the company's internal economic security).

Lebedev was sent to the Lefortovo pre-trial detention center. He was charged under three articles of the Criminal Code of Russia: Article 159 of the Criminal Code of Russia (“Theft of someone else’s property, by deception, as part of an organized group, on a large scale”; according to the investigation, Lebedev, together with Khodorkovsky, appropriated 20 percent of the shares of OJSC Apatit worth 283 million 142 thousand dollars); Article 315 (("Malicious failure to comply with a court decision that has entered into legal force by representatives of a commercial organization"); Article 165 ("Causing property damage to owners by deception, in the absence of signs of theft, committed by an organized group, on a large scale ").

Later, he was charged under Article 199 of the Criminal Code of Russia (“Tax evasion from an organization on an especially large scale, by a group of persons by prior conspiracy, repeatedly”); Article 198 (“Evasion of an individual from paying tax or insurance contribution to state extra-budgetary funds, committed on an especially large scale”); and also - under Article 327 (“Forgery of official documents, committed repeatedly”) and Article 160 (“Appropriation or embezzlement of someone else’s property by an organized group, on a large scale”). Similar charges were brought against Khodorkovsky.

Lebedev’s lawyers at the initial stage of the investigation were Evgeny Baru, Anton Drel, Timofey Gridnev and Konstantin Rivkin; later they were joined by several more lawyers, in particular Elena Liptser and Vladimir Krasnov. The investigation suspected Lebedev's defense of trying to stall for time under the pretext of the need for new lawyers to familiarize themselves with the case materials.

The defense tried to get Lebedev released on bail, but the Basmanny Court of Moscow refused. Lebedev protested the court's decision, but the Moscow City Court considered it necessary to leave the head of MENATEP in custody. Lebedev's lawyers sought to replace the prosecutor, but this was also denied to them. The court did not accept the challenge Lebedev himself declared to the entire investigative team. However, Lebedev's lawyers managed to convince the court to combine the cases of Lebedev, Khodorkovsky and the case of the former head of Volna JSC Andrei Krainov into a single proceeding. As a result, 17 lawyers began representing the defense side.

The trial in the consolidated case began in June 2004. Lebedev, like Khodorkovsky, did not want to participate in the proceedings. In the courtroom, while prosecutor Dmitry Shokhin read out investigative documents, Lebedev defiantly solved crossword puzzles, and Khodorkovsky read the book “Russia under the Old Regime” by Richard Pipes.

On May 31, 2005, Lebedev was sentenced to nine years in prison to be served in a general regime colony. He pleaded not guilty.

The verdict was appealed. While awaiting the decision of the Moscow City Court, Lebedev, who complained of deteriorating health, refused to go for walks. For this, in August 2005, the administration of the Matrosskaya Tishina pre-trial detention center sent him to a punishment cell for a week, which prompted Khodorkovsky to go on a hunger strike for the same period.

Lebedev himself stated that he would not participate in the cassation so as not to waste time on “this formality” to the detriment of preparations for a “dialogue with justice” in the person of the Supreme Court and the European Court of Human Rights.

On August 25, 2005, Lebedev was transferred from the punishment cell to a general cell. And in September, the Moscow City Court reduced the sentences of Lebedev and Khodorkovsky by one year (to eight years; Krainov’s sentence was reduced from five years in prison to four and a half years suspended). At the end of October 2005, Platon Lebedev was transferred to a colony located in the village of Kharp in the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug.

On December 22, 2006, it became known that Khodorkovsky and Lebedev were transferred to Chita. According to Khodorkovsky’s lawyer Natalya Terekhova, her client was transferred to the Chita pre-trial detention center on December 20. Lebedev's lawyer Evgeny Baru told reporters that he has no information about the whereabouts of his client. However, he did not rule out that new charges will be brought against Lebedev and Khodorkovsky - the Prosecutor General's Office sent a notification to the defense that on December 27, “investigative actions will be carried out” with Lebedev. “Investigative actions” with the participation of Khodorkovsky, according to the notification received by his lawyers, were planned for December 26.

According to some information, in December 2006, in the Chita pre-trial detention center, Lebedev was informed that he was suspected of legalizing in 2002-2003 funds received from the sale of oil as a result of thefts from YUKOS enterprises - Tomskneft, Samaraneftegaz and Yuganskneftegaz. Similar claims were made against Khodorkovsky. Lawyers for the prisoners suggested that their clients could face similar charges in connection with donations to the Open Russia Foundation. At the same time, they emphasized that there was no money laundering, since the funds were transferred to Open Russia without their subsequent cashing out - the so-called “kickback”.

On February 5, 2007, Lebedev and Khodorkovsky were charged under two articles of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation: article 160 - theft by appropriation, article 174 - legalization (laundering) of funds or other property. Neither Lebedev nor Khodorkovsky admitted their guilt. According to Khodorkovsky's lawyer Yuri Schmidt, the defendants are charged with theft of 23-25 billion dollars (that is, an amount exceeding the revenue of the Yukos company) through the oil companies Fargoil and Ratibor. Previously, in the case of YUKOS, Fargoil and Ratibor, the amount of $13 billion was mentioned, of which $8.5 billion was allegedly legalized.

The possible filing of new charges against Lebedev and Khodorkovsky became known back in July 2005. Then the Prosecutor General's Office notified their lawyers of the need to appear in connection with the filing of new charges against their clients, but no charges followed. The investigation of the Prosecutor General's Office against YUKOS, Fargoil and Ratibor became known in December 2004, when the first suspects were arrested - Deputy Director of the External Debt Directorate of NK YUKOS Vladimir Pereverzin and the head of Ratibor Vladimir Malakhovsky. In June 2005, a Spanish citizen, General Director of the Fargoil company, Antonio Valdes-Garcia, who escaped from his guards in January 2007 shortly before his sentencing, was taken into custody in Russia. According to the Prosecutor General's Office, the defendants embezzled and legalized the proceeds of the oil companies Yuganskneftegaz, Tomskneft and Samaraneftegaz by transferring them abroad. Thanks to a special scheme, oil was allegedly purchased from oil refining companies at cost (about $49 per ton), and then resold through offshore companies at a price of up to $150 per ton. The proceeds went to the companies Ratibor and Fargoil, were legalized through foreign offshore companies, and then transferred to the accounts of large shareholders of YUKOS in the form of remunerations or payments for services (according to investigators, fictitious).

On February 9, 2007, the Prosecutor General's Office specified its charges against Lebedev and Khodorkovsky. They were charged with theft of shares of subsidiaries of the Eastern Oil Company OJSC in November 1998, which were later re-registered as a number of foreign offshore companies. In addition, according to investigators, in 1998-2004, Lebedev and Khodorkovsky participated in the theft of oil from Samaraneftegaz OJSC, Yuganskneftegaz OJSC and Tomskneft OJSC. They allegedly first bought oil from these enterprises at cost (under the guise of so-called “well fluid”), and then sold it through controlled companies at a price inflated by approximately 3-4 times. The total amount of stolen oil, according to the Prosecutor General's Office, amounted to more than 850 billion rubles, of which 450 billion rubles and 7.5 billion dollars were legalized - that is, the amount of legalized funds practically coincides with the previously mentioned 23-25 billion dollars.

Lawyers and defendants in the case called the charges against them absurd. In July 2008, the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation brought new charges against Khodorkovsky and Lebedev. It was noted that it was presented in a new formulation, according to which the businessmen were accused of “theft by appropriation” of almost 350 million tons of oil and “money laundering on an especially large scale” (laundering 487 billion rubles and 7.5 billion dollars). Meanwhile, the defense did not see any “novelty” in the accusation and defined it as “a set of... unsubstantiated allegations about the alleged theft and legalization of all the oil produced over the 6 years of activity of the Yukos Oil Company.” That same month, former businessmen issued clarifications about the charges brought against them, calling them “deliberately false and slanderous.”

Lebedev is married for the second time. He married for the first time in 1977 to Natalya Yemyasheva. In July 2006, while in prison, he divorced, and in November he registered a second marriage. The surname of Lebedev’s new wife was not mentioned in the media; in addition, different names were given – Natalya and Maria. Lebedev has two children from his first marriage, Lyudmila and Mikhail, and two - Daria and Maria - from his second wife.

Lebedev Platon Leonidovich is a famous Russian entrepreneur. Together with him he created the MENATEP bank, and then they took the helm of the YUKOS holding. Platon Lebedev does not like to talk about his childhood and youth, or his parents. It is known that the entrepreneur was born on November 29, 1956 in Moscow. Platon Leonidovich has a twin brother, Victor.

After receiving his matriculation certificate, Lebedev entered the Moscow Academy of National Economy. G. Plekhanov. In 1981 he became a certified specialist. The assignment brought Platon Leonidovich into the foreign trade structure of the USSR Ministry of Geology - “Zarubezhgeologiya”. Over 8 years of work in the organization, Lebedev reached the position of head of the economic planning department.

Business

Perestroika brought Platon Leonidovich into business. Shortly before his dismissal from Zarubezhgeology, the man met Mikhail Khodorkovsky. Together they create the Center for Scientific and Technical Programs for Youth. Khodorkovsky, Lebedev and Monakhov supplied computers to the country, created “boiled” jeans, which were fashionable at that time, and sold alcohol.

It took businessmen several years to transform MENATEP into a large enterprise that operated in 20 areas. Over the year, the company’s turnover reached 80 million rubles. The organization helped state-owned companies cash out banknotes. In the early 90s, MENATEP became a commercial bank. A new milestone has appeared in Lebedev’s biography - co-founder of a bank with a 7% stake.

Soon Platon Leonidovich sits in the chair of the president of the MENATEP bank. The financial institution became an intermediary in government payments. Even the Ministry of Finance used it.

Clever schemes, which included offshore companies, issuance of shares, and treasury tax exemption, helped Lebedev and his partners earn billions. The money earned was used to purchase shares in the country's raw materials companies. Thanks to this, Lebedev soon received a controlling stake in YUKOS. In 1996, 90% of the company's shares passed into the hands of the entrepreneur.

Businessman Platon Lebedev

During the default, entrepreneurs pulled off a clever scam. The money of individuals and legal entities frozen in their accounts was distributed among companies controlled by Platon Leonidovich. As a result, there was not a penny left in the bank. MENATEP officially became bankrupt.

Inside YUKOS, Lebedev and Khodorkovsky carried out serious reforms. They created companies engaged in oil production, transportation, production of equipment, oils and additives. All enterprises became part of a huge holding company called YUKOS. In 2003, the subsidiaries received a single share. This allowed entrepreneurs to increase the value of securities.

Mikhail Khodorkovsky's desire to achieve results in the political field led to serious problems. Tax audits began at YUKOS, and later representatives of law enforcement agencies also came.

Criminal prosecutions

Searches and investigations brought Platon Lebedev to the dock. The court considered a criminal case related to the illegal seizure of shares of OJSC Eastern Oil Company, theft of oil, money laundering and a number of other offenses. The investigation into the case lasted two years.

The verdict to friends and associates Lebedev and Khodorkovsky was passed on May 31, 2005. The businessmen were transferred to a colony located in the village of Kharp. It is interesting that, in accordance with Russian law, Lebedev was supposed to serve his sentence in the same region where he was convicted. But instead, the entrepreneur was sent to the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug. Platon Leonidovich's lawyers managed to change the place of detention.

For almost 10 years, lawyers have been fighting to reduce the sentence. Numerous petitions and appeals helped. Platon Lebedev was released after 11 years. This was achieved due to the fact that charges of laundering 2 billion rubles were withdrawn and prosecutions for tax evasion were stopped.

Platon Leonidovich left the colony on January 24, 2014. He received the right to partial rehabilitation by decision of the Presidium of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation. Despite this, more than 17 billion rubles were recovered from Lebedev. On the side of the entrepreneur were many cultural figures, including.

Personal life

Platon Lebedev is the head of a large family. The businessman first married in 1977 to a girl named Natalya. The wife gave Platon Leonidovich two children - daughter Lyudmila and son Mikhail.

While in prison, Lebedev files for divorce. Almost immediately he gets married again. Maria Cheplagina became the new wife. At that time, the lovers were already raising two children - Maria and Daria. During numerous trials, the wife testified in favor of her husband and read letters written by her daughters.

Now Platon Leonidovich is a happy father and grandfather. Lyudmila Lebedeva married businessman Ibragim Suleymanov. The son-in-law has repeatedly come to the attention of the police for fraud and connections with crime bosses. And in 2007 he went to jail.

On November 24, 2016, something happened in the family of an entrepreneur. Granddaughter Diana Lebedeva had an accident during a trip to Geneva. The girl received injuries incompatible with life. The student at the University of St. Gallen and representative of the golden youth of Moscow was only 19 years old.

Platon Leonidovich does not talk about the death of his granddaughter. Journalists were not allowed to attend Diana's funeral. And under the photo on Instagram of the girl, heated discussions took place. Some mourned with the family of the deceased, others argued that Diana herself was to blame for what happened.

Platon Lebedev now

Platon Lebedev's health was undermined by imprisonment. After leaving the colony, he planned to engage in health procedures. But I could not travel abroad due to the lack of a passport.

The road to Europe and America is closed for Platon Leonidovich due to a debt of 17 billion rubles. Lebedev lives in a village near Moscow. The international arena is the main goal of Platon Lebedev, but so far it has not been conquered due to the sanctions imposed against Russia.

Condition assessment

In 2016, Forbes magazine placed Platon Lebedev in 164th place in its ranking of the richest people. The businessman's fortune was estimated at $500 million. In 2017, there were no major changes in Platon Leonidovich’s income, but richer people appeared who pushed him back to 196th position in the ranking.

The former head of MENATEP, Platon Lebedev, was released from the Velsk colony by order of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation. He has already arrived in Moscow and met with his family.

“Of course, I was happy to learn that Platon (Lebedev) was being released. I hope that he will be released abroad so that he can receive treatment: his health is not good. As for the Supreme Court’s refusal to cancel the tax service’s claim, I heard the signal. "I publicly raised the question and they publicly answered me by refusing to implement the decision of the European Court. This means only one thing: I am not welcome in Russia."

After the pardon of Mikhail Khodorkovsky at the end of last year, different opinions were expressed in the press about the reasons for such a political move. Among them were both the need to increase Putin’s prestige in the international arena before the Olympics in Sochi, and the Russian authorities’ fear of a possible decision by the International Court in The Hague on the claim of Yukos shareholders against the Russian Federation in the amount of $98 billion. Political scientist Svyatoslav Kaspe does not exclude the influence of both of these reasons on the fate of Khodorkovsky and Lebedev, as well as other, less obvious international processes:

– In general, this whole story, which clearly needs to be considered as a whole, is another confirmation that public policy is only a very small tip of the iceberg. It is clear that both the release of Khodorkovsky under an amnesty and the release of Lebedev outside of the amnesty are the result of some processes, apparently of an international nature. Their participants prefer not to talk about the nature of these processes, and they can be understood. I think that speculation regarding the impact of the 98 billion lawsuit has a right to exist, but in general I think that this is a “we don’t know and won’t find out” situation. I believe that the Olympics also play a certain role, because it is undoubtedly one of the most important political image projects for Putin. But I don't think it all comes down to the Olympics. There are clearly some undercurrents there that we do not have the opportunity to look into,” believes Svyatoslav Kaspe.

Political commentator Andrey Piontkovsky emphasizes that with the release of Khodorkovsky and Lebedev, the history of YUKOS does not end, but enters the most dramatic phase:

– Don’t forget about the human side of this conflict. YUKOS still has one more hostage - ex-head of the company's economic security department Alexey Pichugin, who was sentenced to life imprisonment. Freeing him is quite a difficult thing. Pardons and reduced sentences will not work. We have to admit that all the processes were fabricated. In addition, the mutual financial claims of the parties to the conflict around YUKOS are enormous. The Presidium of the Supreme Court not only refused to send the case for a new trial, but also confirmed the claims of the tax police against Khodorkovsky and Lebedev, which, by the way, makes Lebedev, despite his release, in a certain sense, also a hostage. With such claims, it is unlikely that he will be able to freely leave the territory of the Russian Federation. On the other hand, it is no secret that a court decision is being prepared in The Hague, and from leaks from there it seems that the decision will be unfavorable for Russia. I think that very complex negotiations are taking place behind the scenes between YUKOS and Putin personally, because all judicial and financial issues here are decided personally by Putin.

– Do you agree that the lawsuit filed by YUKOS shareholders against Russia is one of the main reasons for the pardon of Khodorkovsky and the release of Lebedev?

– Yes, and I would add one more reason – serious pressure from Mrs. Merkel, who has recently become, as it were, an informal leader of the West against the backdrop of Obama’s apathy and confusion in all international issues. Everything that has happened since Khodorkovsky's release is a move in a complex game between Putin and Yukos. And the fact that the financial penalty was left in force indicates that international bargaining is taking place, in which Russia wants to retain certain positions, says Andrei Piontkovsky.

In 2005, the Meshchansky Court of Moscow sentenced former co-owners of YUKOS Mikhail Khodorkovsky and Platon Lebedev to 9 years in prison for tax crimes. At the end of 2010, the Khamovnichesky Court of Moscow sentenced them to 14 years in a colony for the theft of 200 million tons of oil and laundering of proceeds from crime. Subsequently, various courts several times reduced the sentences of Mikhail Khodorkovsky and Platon Lebedev, but refused to recognize their innocence.

Lebedev, Plato

Former head of the MFO "MENATEP", convicted in 2005 in the "YUKOS case"

In December 2002, he was elected chairman of the board of a banking holding company created on the basis of the international financial group MENATEP, Trust and Investment Bank and Bank MENATEP SPb.

On July 2, 2003, Lebedev was detained in the Vishnevsky hospital on suspicion of theft of 20 percent of the shares of the Murmansk OJSC Apatit, owned by the state, in the amount of 283 million 142 thousand dollars. The basis for initiating a criminal case and detaining Lebedev was the materials of an inspection conducted by the Prosecutor General’s Office at the request of State Duma deputy, deputy chairman of the Committee on Economic Policy and Entrepreneurship Vladimir Yudin.

Lebedev was sent to the Lefortovo pre-trial detention center. He was charged under three articles of the Criminal Code of Russia: Article 159 of the Criminal Code of Russia (“Theft of someone else’s property, by deception, as part of an organized group, on a large scale”; according to the investigation, Lebedev, together with Khodorkovsky, appropriated 20 percent of the shares of Apatit OJSC worth 283 million 142 thousand dollars); Article 315 (("Malicious failure to comply with a court decision that has entered into legal force by representatives of a commercial organization"); Article 165 ("Causing property damage to owners by deception, in the absence of signs of theft, committed by an organized group, on a large scale ").

Lebedev's lawyers at the initial stage of the investigation were Evgeny Baru, Anton Drel, Timofey Gridnev and Konstantin Rivkin; later they were joined by several more lawyers, in particular Elena Liptser and Vladimir Krasnov. The investigation suspected Lebedev's defense of trying to stall for time under the pretext of the need for new lawyers to familiarize themselves with the case materials.

The trial in the consolidated case began in June 2004. Lebedev, like Khodorkovsky, did not want to participate in the proceedings. In the courtroom, while prosecutor Dmitry Shokhin was reading out investigative documents, Lebedev was defiantly solving crossword puzzles, and Khodorkovsky was reading the book “Russia under the Old Regime” by Richard Pipes.

On May 31, 2005, Lebedev was sentenced to nine years in prison to be served in a general regime colony. He pleaded not guilty.

Lebedev himself stated that he would not participate in the cassation so as not to waste time on “this formality” to the detriment of preparations for “dialogue with justice” in the person of the Supreme Court and the European Court of Human Rights.

On February 5, 2007, Lebedev and Khodorkovsky were charged under two articles of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation: article 160 - theft by appropriation, article 174 - legalization (laundering) of funds or other property. Neither Lebedev nor Khodorkovsky admitted their guilt. According to Khodorkovsky's lawyer Yuri Schmidt, the accused are charged with the theft of 23-25 billion dollars (that is, an amount exceeding the revenue of the Yukos company) through the oil companies Fargoil and Ratibor. Previously, in the case of YUKOS, Fargoil and Ratibor, the amount of $13 billion was mentioned, of which $8.5 billion was allegedly legalized.

In October 2007, the European Court of Human Rights upheld Lebedev's complaint. Having identified a number of procedural violations (in particular, the arrest of Lebedev in court, carried out without the presence of his lawyers, as well as his “detention without a judicial warrant or other clear grounds” from July 3 to August 28, 2003), the European Court decided to recover from the Russian Federation in favor of Lebedev 3 thousand euros and pay 7 thousand legal costs. The court's decision came into force in July 2008.

In July 2008, the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation brought new charges against Khodorkovsky and Lebedev. It was noted that it was presented in a new formulation, according to which the businessmen were accused of “theft by appropriation” of almost 350 million tons of oil and “money laundering on an especially large scale” (laundering 487 billion rubles and 7.5 billion dollars). Meanwhile, the defense did not see any “novelty” in the accusation and defined it as “a set of... unsubstantiated allegations about the alleged theft and legalization of all the oil produced over the 6 years of activity of the Yukos Oil Company.” That same month, former businessmen issued clarifications about the charges brought against them, calling them “deliberately false and slanderous.”

On February 19, 2009, the Khamovnichesky Court of Moscow decided to transfer Lebedev and Khodorkovsky to Moscow to consider the second criminal case. A few days later, the lawyers of the convicts expressed the opinion that they had already been delivered to the capital. The trial began on March 31 of the same year. During its course, Khodorkovsky and Lebedev repeatedly stated that they did not understand the essence of the charges brought against them, , , , , .

In December 2009, the Presidium of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation, having considered the arrest of Lebedev within the framework of the decision of the European Court of Human Rights, recognized that the businessman was detained from July 3 to August 28, 2003 and from March 31 to April 6, 2004 illegally, and canceled the arrest former head of MENATEP. The Supreme Court also decided to restore the proceedings in this criminal case “due to new circumstances” and initiated supervisory proceedings in the Lebedev case (conducted to verify the legality and validity of the verdict, as well as correct possible judicial errors).

The court repeatedly extended the arrest of Lebedev and Khodorkovsky, once again this happened in May 2010, despite the law that had come into force not long before, prohibiting the detention of those accused of economic crimes without sufficient grounds.

In the fall of 2010, the prosecutor's office announced that, as a result of an "arithmetical error," the amount of oil that, according to the prosecution, was stolen by Lebedev and Khodorkovsky was overstated and in fact was not 350 million tons, but 218 million tons.

On December 27, 2010, the Khamovnichesky Court found Khodorkovsky and Lebedev guilty of oil theft and money laundering and sentenced them to 14 years in prison in both cases. Lawyers for the defendants said they intend to appeal the court's decision.

Two months later, the Council under the President of the Russian Federation for Promoting the Development of Civil Society Institutions and Human Rights proposed conducting independent examinations in two high-profile cases (the second YUKOS case and the death of lawyer Sergei Magnitsky in a pre-trial detention center). The initiative was approved by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and supported by the Constitutional Court. At the end of March 2011, the Chairman of the Council, Mikhail Fedotov, assembled a commission that was supposed to draw appropriate conclusions on the texts of the court decision and the protocol of the court hearing of the second Yukos case.

On May 24, 2011, the Moscow City Court, having considered the cassation appeal of the lawyers of Khodorkovsky and Lebedev, upheld the verdict in the second criminal case, reducing their sentences by a year - from fourteen years to thirteen. This allowed Khodorkovsky and Lebedev to submit requests for parole on May 30, since after this verdict it turned out that they had served half of the total sentence, had no outstanding penalties, and, according to their lawyers, they were not required to admit guilt. In addition, in May 2011, the international human rights organization Amnesty International recognized the businessmen as prisoners of conscience, citing that their second sentence was politically motivated.

On July 27, 2011, the Velsky District Court of the Arkhangelsk Region denied Lebedev parole, considering that “the purpose of the punishment was not achieved.” The judge was convinced by the arguments of the prosecutor and a representative of the Velsk colony, where the former businessman was serving his sentence. He reported on numerous penalties imposed on Lebedev over all the years of imprisonment, including the fact that he lost his prison uniform and addressed a colony employee on a first-name basis.

In September 2011, the ECHR also made a decision on the claim of Yukos shareholders against the Russian authorities. The court did not accept that the prosecution of the company was politically motivated, nor that the Russian state was using the Yukos case to destroy or take over the company, and declared the legality of the authorities' use of legal proceedings against Yukos. At the same time, the ECHR found a violation of the company's right to a fair trial, since it was not given enough time to prepare for tax claims.

In March 2012, the Constitutional Court, having considered Lebedev’s complaint, determined that the lack of admission of guilt by the convicted person and information about voluntary compensation for damage is not an obstacle to parole.

On August 8, 2012, the Velsky District Court partially granted the request of Lebedev’s lawyers and reduced his prison term by three years and four months, as a result of which he could be released in February or March 2013. However, on September 21, 2012, the Arkhangelsk Regional Court canceled this decision to reduce Lebedev’s sentence. On November 1 of the same year, the Velsky District Court, at the request of Lebedev’s defense, again reduced his prison term, this time by exactly three years. Thus, Lebedev could return to freedom in July 2013.

Lebedev is married for the second time. He married for the first time in 1977 to Natalya Yemyasheva. In July 2006, while in prison, he divorced, and in November he registered a second marriage with Maria Cheplygina (according to another version - Cheplagina). Lebedev has two children from his first marriage, Lyudmila and Mikhail, and two - Daria and Maria - from his second wife, , , , .

USED MATERIALS

Platon Lebedev will be released in July 2013. - RIA News, 01.11.2012

The court overturned the decision to reduce the sentence of Platon Lebedev. - RIA News, 21.09.2012

The court reduced Platon Lebedev's sentence by 3 years and 4 months. - RIA News, 08.08.2012

Platon Lebedev's sentence was cut short. - Interfax, 08.08.2012

The Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation on the complaint of Platon Lebedev: the absence of an admission of guilt does not prevent parole. - Interfax, 02.03.2012

The Constitutional Court of Russia issued a ruling on Platon Lebedev’s complaint about the parole procedure. - Radio Liberty, 02.03.2012

The ECHR did not see any politics in the Yukos case. - Interfax, 20.09.2011

Strasbourg admitted the guilt of the Russian authorities in the Yukos case. - BBC News, Russian service, 20.09.2011