Platon Lebedev

Platon Lebedev graduated from the Academy of National Economy Plekhanov in Moscow in 1981. After graduating he worked in the Foreign Trade Department "Zarubezhgeologia" (Russian: Зарубежгеология) of the Soviet Ministry of Geology until 1989. There he met Leonid Nevzlin who subsequently introduced him to Mikhail Khodorkovsky. Between 1989 and 1992, Lebedev headed the currency and finance department of Khodorkovsky's Bank Menatep and became president and a member of the board in 1993.{{cite news|url=http://www.themoscowtimes.com/business/article/the-man-behind-menateps-machine/237379.html|title=The Man Behind Menatep's Machine|author=Alla Startseva|work=The Moscow Times|date=4 July 2003|access-date=15 July 2015|archive-date=15 July 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150715104916/http://www.themoscowtimes.com/business/article/the-man-behind-menateps-machine/237379.html|url-status=dead}} He was president until 1995. Since 1996 he sat on the board of oil company Yukos. Lebedev was CEO of Group Menatep Ltd. (principal shareholder of YUKOS) from 2002 until his arrest in July 2003.[https://www.bloomberg.com/research/stocks/private/person.asp?personId=39744482&privcapId=1307783 "Platon Lebedev"], Bloomberg L.P.

Since 1997, Lebedev holds a stake of about 7 percent in Group Menatep Limited, now GML Limited. Holding company GML Limited controls 51% of Yukos shares.{{cite news|url=http://www.kommersant.com/p538197/r_1/The_Best_Defence_Is_Non-Ownership/|title=The Best Defence Is Non-Ownership|work=Kommersant|date=13 January 2005|access-date=30 June 2015|archive-date=30 June 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150630225430/http://www.kommersant.com/p538197/r_1/The_Best_Defence_Is_Non-Ownership/|url-status=dead}} The other four ultimate beneficial owners of GML Limited are Leonid Nevzlin, Mikhail Brudno, Vladimir Dubov and Vasily Shakhnovsky.{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/russia-yukos-idUSL6N0PY3KW20140723|title=Ruling in Yukos shareholders' $100-bln suit against Russia expected Monday|work=Reuters|date=23 July 2014|access-date=24 September 2019}}

On 2 July 2003, Lebedev, then chairman of the board of Menatep, was summoned as a witness to the Prosecutor General's Office in an investigation into embezzlement of state funds. Shortly before the scheduled visit, Lebedev however felt ill at about 5 a.m. and was taken to a hospital. Lebedev then subsequently was arrested in the hospital on suspicion of stealing a 20% stake in JSC Apatit.{{cite web|url=http://www.gasandoil.com/news/russia/4e7da30e813b56d47b6fe5de9464a821|title=Yukos arrests are part of new campaign on big business|publisher=Gas and Oil|date=9 July 2003|access-date=24 September 2019}}

On 31 May 2005, Lebedev was convicted of tax evasion in 2005, and sentenced to nine years in prison.{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/4482203.stm|title=Khodorkovsky: an oligarch undone|work=BBC News|access-date=24 September 2019|date=31 May 2005|author=Scott-Joynt, Jeremy}} He was subsequently charged with embezzlement and money laundering in 2009, and pleaded not guilty to the charges.{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/8009817.stm|title=Ex-Yukos chief pleads not guilty|work=BBC News|access-date=24 September 2019|date=21 April 2009}}{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/apr/21/khodorkovsky-pleads-not-guilty-to-embezzlement/|title=Khodorkovsky pleads not guilty to embezzlement|work=The Washington Times|access-date=24 September 2019|date=21 April 2009}} There has been speculation that these charges were politically motivated.{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2003/07/03/international/europe/03CND-RUSS.html|title=Oil Executive Is Arrested, and Russians Look for Putin's Role|work=The New York Times|access-date=24 September 2019|author=Tavernise, Sabrina|date=3 July 2003}}

On 27 December 2010, Lebedev and Mikhail Khodorkovsky were each sentenced to 13 years in prison for money laundering and embezzlement. In the second case against them, they were found guilty of organizing a criminal group in the oil business, embezzling 218 million tonnes of oil from Yukos' oil extraction subsidiary companies, Uganskneftegaz, Tomskneft and Samaraneftegaz.{{cn|date=December 2020}}

In December 2013 Khodorkovsky was released while Lebedev was released on 24 January 2014. "A short prison sentence might be considered a victory for Mr. Putin's protégé, President Dmitry A. Medvedev, a former law professor who is thought of as less of a hard-liner. Mr. Medvedev has been promoting policies to modernize Russia, and analysts say the Khodorkovsky case is an obstacle toward convincing foreign investors that the country's legal system is fair."{{cite news|author=Levy, Clifford J.|author2=Kramer, Andrew E.|title='Imprisoned Russian Oil Tycoon Is Convicted Again'|work=The New York Times|date=27 December 2010|page=A4}}{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/dec/27/wikileaks-russia-mikhail-khodorkovsky-trial|author=Parfitt, Tom|title=WikiLeaks: rule of law in Mikhail Khodorkovsky trial merely gloss|work=The Guardian|date=26 December 2010|access-date=24 September 2019}}

On 24 May 2011, Lebedev and Khodorkovsky were named prisoners of conscience by Amnesty International, which criticized the men's second trial and called for their release on the expiry of their initial sentences.{{cite news|url=https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2011/05/russian-businessmen-declared-prisoners-conscience-after-convictions-are-upheld/|title=Russian businessmen declared prisoners of conscience after convictions are upheld|date=24 May 2011|publisher=Amnesty International|access-date=24 September 2019}}

On 7 August 2012, Lebedev's 13-year sentence was reduced by 3 years and 4 months by a district court judge in the Arkhangelsk region city of Velsk, where Lebedev had been imprisoned.{{cite news|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2012-08-08/russia-reduces-prison-term-for-lebedev-interfax-says-correct-|publisher=Bloomberg|access-date=24 September 2019|title=Russian Court Orders Release of Khodorkovsky Partner in 2013|author=Meyer, Henry|date=8 August 2012}} This action came as a result of the prosecutor's office requesting a re-qualification of Lebedev's offenses due to the passage of a new legal statute in the Russian Criminal Code which reduced the punishment for offenses of which he had been convicted.

On 25 October 2013, the Berlin International Literature Festival held a worldwide reading in solidarity with Platon Lebedev and all criminals who allege they are political prisoners in Russia.{{cite web|url=http://www.worldwide-reading.com/archiv-en/25-10-2013-worldwide-reading-in-solidarity-with-mikhail-khodorkovsky-platon-lebedev-and-all-political-prisoners-in-russia|title=Worldwide Reading in Solidarity with Mikhail Khodorkovsky, Platon Lebedev and all Political Prisoners in Russia|work=Worldwide Reading|date=25 October 2013|access-date=24 September 2019}}

On 23 January 2014, the Russian Supreme Court reduced Lebedev's sentence and ordered his release from prison. But Supreme Court Judge Pyotr Serkov did not change a court order under which Lebedev and Khodorkovsky had to pay 17bn roubles ($500m; £300m) in tax arrears.{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-25888975|title=Russia frees Khodorkovsky ex-partner Lebedev|work=BBC News|date=24 January 2014|access-date=24 September 2019}} Immediately after his release, Lebedev said in an interview with Ren TV that he intended to resume business.{{cite news|url=https://www.interfax.ru/russia/353910|script-title=ru:Платон Лебедев думает вернуться в бизнес, не помышляет о политике в чистом виде и обещает всех удивить|trans-title=Platon Lebedev thinks on returning to business, doesn't think about politics in its purest form, and promises to surprise everyone|agency=Interfax|date=25 January 2014|access-date=24 September 2019}}

In February 2015, Lebedev announced his first press conference after his release from prison in Moscow on 18 February 2015.{{cite web|url=https://www.khodorkovsky.com/platon-lebedev-give-first-press-conference/|title=Platon Lebedev to Give First Press Conference|website=khodorkovsky.com|date=18 February 2015|access-date=24 September 2019}}

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Category:1956 births

Category:Living people

Category:Amnesty International prisoners of conscience held by Russia

Category:Russian businesspeople in the oil industry

Category:Russian people convicted of tax crimes

Category:Place of birth missing (living people)

Category:Yukos

Category:Russian prisoners and detainees

Category:Plekhanov Russian University of Economics alumni