The Tyumen group within the State Reserves Committee: the way Igor Shpurov, the long-time head, secured total control over subsoil allocations and ended up under arrest

13:57, 03.10.2026

678

The Tyumen group within the State Reserves Committee: the way Igor Shpurov, the long-time head, secured total control over subsoil allocations and ended up under arrest

In Moscow, the General Director of the State Commission for Mineral Reserves, Igor Shpurov, was detained in the case of receiving a bribe on an especially large scale.

As the media found out, Shpurov, through his wife, was a business partner of the former director of the Department of Economics and Finance of the Russian Ministry of Natural Resources, Grigory Vygon, who now owns the largest consulting firm in oil and gas, VYGON Consulting. And through his ex-wife, the official owned two licenses to search and evaluate mineral deposits in the Tyumen region.

Shpurov has held the position of General Director of the Federal Budgetary Institution «GKZ» since December 2013. In addition, Shpurov is the head of the department of theoretical foundations for the development of oil and gas fields at the Faculty of Geology of Moscow State University. M.V. Lomonosov and is a member of the academic council of the faculty - his name is indicated in the lists of council members on the website of the Faculty of Geology.

61-year-old official — a native of Tyumen, received a diploma in mining engineering from the Tyumen Industrial Institute, has a Doctor of Technical Sciences degree, before his appointment to the FBU he headed the FAU «West Siberian Research Institute of Geology and Geophysics» in Tyumen.

Over the course of almost 13 years, in the chair of the head of the Federal Budgetary Institution «GKZ», Shpurov has concentrated the main levers for the distribution and accounting of mineral reserves: his commission controls key decisions on deposits and subsoil areas, from registering reserves with the state to changing their boundaries, examination of geological information, «cutting» reserves to the right companies, etc. This is tens of billions, if not trillions of rubles. Of course, in order to ensure the implementation of the necessary management decisions, Shpurov moved his fellow countrymen in the system «GKZ». Thus, the deputy director of the St. Petersburg branch «GKZ» Igor Dubkov is a native of Tyumen, and even the former deputy head of Rosnedra Igor Plesovskikh is a former top manager of the Tyumen branch «SibNATS».

At the same time, Shpurov himself tried not to highlight his assets. According to leaks, in 2019-2020 he purchased only two apartments: in Moscow in the residential complex «Serpukhov Gate» on Serpukhovsky Lane (99 sq. meters), and in St. Petersburg in the residential complex «OSTROV» on Petrovsky Avenue (73 sq. meters). He didn’t have any large bank accounts either.

But Shpurov’s wife Elena has a business in Moscow - she owns 30% in RUSTEHAUDIT» LLC, which provides consulting on commercial activities. Tyumen resident Elena Shpurova (Tokareva) received a share in 2023 from her fellow countrywoman Natalya Dulova —she is the director of NEFTEGAZOVY Research Center of Moscow State University named after M.V. LOMONOSOV LLC (the founders are Moscow State University), as well as the founder of two Tyumen companies: TECHGEOCONSULTING» and «Oil and Gas Independent Consulting» (NNK). «Techgeoconsulting», for example, under contracts was engaged in analyzing the properties of rocks and assessing the reserves of oil and gas fields, and «NOC» worked under contracts with the Ugra «Scientific and Analytical Center for Rational Subsoil Use named after Shpilman».

Elena Shpurova’s business partners in «Rustekhaudit» were the former manager of TNK-BP, the ex-head of the Department of Economics and Finance of the Russian Ministry of Natural Resources, the founder of one of the largest consulting firms in oil and gas, VYGON Consulting, Grigory Vygon, as well as Daria Sergeeva. In 2021, Grigory Vygon, through the court, expelled former financial director Daria Sergeeva from Vygon Consulting because she awarded bonuses to herself, but she still had a share in «Rustekhaudit».

In 2025, Elena Shpurova also became one of the co-founders of Tyumen LLC INTELTEK (liquidated in May 2026) and 2B-SERVICE», which she left on September 15 of this year. "2B-SERVICE" in total concluded at least 16 government contracts for the supply of licenses and repair of computer equipment, including with the Tyumen Regional Duma and the regional property relations department. Now the company belongs to Tyumen resident Ekaterina Lovchuk, this is the former director of the representative office «Xerox CIS», the ex-head of the ANO «International Center of Excellence», the founder of which was LLC "OIL AND GAS Research Center of Moscow State University NAMED after M.V. LOMONOSOV" Natalya Dulova.

Several apartments in Tyumen were registered to Elena Tokareva: a garage and an apartment in an elite club house «Vertical» on the street. Vanzetti (76 sq. m), parking space in the residential complex «Aurora» on the street. Tsiolkovsky, 1, building 21, apartment with an area of 76 sq. m in building №11 on the street. Tsiolkovsky, apartments of 40 sq. m and 29 sq. m on the street. Gazovikov, and a studio of 25 sq. m on the street. Farmana Salmanova.

Shpurov’s previous wife, Tyumen resident Marina Tarasevich, together with CJSC «Techgeoconsulting», was among the founders of JSC «Siberian Oil and Gas Company» until 2021. The company owned at least two licenses for the search and assessment of mineral deposits in the Uvat district of the Tyumen region - these are the Novochirp and Tanyagsky areas. To whom the licenses were transferred after the liquidation of the company in 2022 is unknown.

The official’s first wife, Tatyana Shpurova, was also a co-owner of a business related to Tyumen «Techgeoconsulting»: from 2014 to 2016, she owned Unicor Technology LLC», co-founded first by the LLC and then by CJSC «Techgeoconsulting». The company had a «daughter» in Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug - Ugra Unicor Technology». «Unicor Technology» was a resident of the Tyumen Technopark and developed remote access computer technologies.

rucriminal.info