VChK-OGPU and Rucriminal.info have learned of a truly astounding story. Ramzan Kadyrov has gone after Mikhail Silantyev—the Ministry of Energy official responsible for the shadow fleet—and his close friend, Rosatom executive Sergey Polgorodnik. He demanded they settle a $700 million debt owed to oil trader Nikolai Bukhantsov. Ultimately, two Deputy Prime Ministers—Alexander Novak and Denis Manturov—had to personally step in to resolve the conflict with Kadyrov. However, the affair brought to light the embezzlement of billions of dollars, and Polgorodnik has already lost his position.
Some time ago, former Rosneft Vice President Anatoly Loktionov decided to sell the company Naftatrans; the buyers were entities linked to Nikolai Bukhantsov and his friend Konstantin Goloshchapov. However, Loktionov was simply swindled. He soon became the subject of a criminal case, was placed on the international wanted list, returned to Russia under the "Titov List" amnesty program, and then left the country again. He was in no position to wage a "war" over the stolen assets.
Since then, Bukhantsov has acquired two very influential partners: Polgorodnik and Silantyev.
Silantyev is extremely close to Deputy Prime Minister Novak; he headed Promsyryeimport (a Ministry of Energy subsidiary) and controls the companies Pearl Energy Trading and OGC Shipping, which together constitute one of the key segments of the Russian shadow fleet. Polgorodnik is a close friend of Rosatom’s First Deputy CEO Kirill Komarov; until recently, he headed JSC Techsnabexport (TENEX), Russia’s largest foreign trade company within the Rosatom structure.
In 2025, the Kovalchuk family launched an "attack" on Rosatom, prompting Loktionov to file new formal complaints with the Presidential Administration and the FSB. In addition to the matter of the theft of his company, Naftatrans, he detailed facts known to him regarding the large-scale embezzlement of funds. He alleged that hundreds of millions of dollars in state funds were being siphoned off through companies controlled by Mikhail Silantyev, Sergey Polgorodnik, and Nikolai Bukhantsov. According to *Prestupnaya Rossiya* (Criminal Russia), more than $1.4 billion may have been stolen via schemes linked to Silantyev between 2022 and 2024 alone.
Law enforcement authorities acted on the portion of the complaint concerning the embezzlement of state funds. Polgorodnik was dismissed as CEO of Techsnabexport just recently, while the FSB—backed by the Kovalchuks—is now exposing the "underbelly" of Rosatom’s operations.
However, regarding the debt owed for Naftatrans, Loktionov was referred to the head of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov—considered the ultimate expert on such matters. Kadyrov took an interest in the issue and assigned the task to the head of his son’s security detail, known by the call sign RPK. RPK confronted Bukhantsov, but the latter told a story that appealed to Kadyrov far more than Loktionov’s version.
According to Bukhantsov, he, Silantyev, and Polgorodnik had been trading Russian oil in circumvention of sanctions. Using various schemes, they had embezzled over $2 billion. His share amounted to more than $600 million, but his partners decided to "stiff" him. Upon realizing this, he retained $300 million—the proceeds from one of the deals. However, Silantyev effectively forced the money out of him, leaving him with nothing. Bukhantsov then asked for help recovering the "debt," promising to use the funds to settle accounts with Loktionov.
Consequently, RPK turned his attention to Silantyev, repeatedly attempting to arrange meetings that Silantyev dodged. Enraged, RPK sent a furious, threatening message (see video) to the man known as the "head of the shadow fleet." "I’m not guarding tomatoes here; there’s no need to act high and mighty with me... We’ll meet and have a serious, grown-up talk one way or another... I’m waiting for a call... The meeting is going to happen," RPK says in the recording.
According to a source for VChK-OGPU and Rucriminal.info, Silantyev and Polgorodnik (see video) were gripped by panic. The latter tried to resolve the issues with Kadyrov on his own but failed. "Heavy artillery"—Novak—was then brought in to handle the situation. In late June 2025, he and fellow Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov traveled to Chechnya for Adam Kadyrov’s wedding. Following the festivities, the source reports, the two deputy prime ministers asked Ramzan Kadyrov to leave their associates alone. He agreed. However, security services are now investigating the massive embezzlement scheme. That said, given the stature of the individuals involved, it would come as no surprise if those agencies were also asked to leave the suspects "alone."
