On June 25, FSB officers detained Magomed-Sultan Magomedov, the State Secretary of Dagestan (pictured left). He is suspected of embezzlement and the illegal privatization of the state-owned enterprise Dagnefteprodukt. The stolen property was confiscated from the official, and he was dismissed from his post, but not arrested.
Searchs were conducted at 50 addresses in Makhachkala, Moscow, and St. Petersburg—not only offices, but also the homes of the official's relatives and colleagues. According to a source in Kommersant, "a huge amount of cash is being confiscated." Magomed-Sultan Magomedov is known in Dagestan by the nickname "Refueler." Early in his career, he worked as a gas station operator, then became its manager, and in the 1990s, he headed the state-owned enterprise Dagnefteprodukt, the sole operator for transshipping oil arriving at the port of Makhachkala. In 2005, he privatized it and transformed it into Kaspetrolservis LLC. The company is part of MSB Holding LLC, whose CEO is Magomed-Sultan Magomedov's son, Magomed Magomedov. He is also a co-owner of Dagnotech LLC, which processes 97% of the republic's oil.
At the same time, Magomed-Sultan Magomedov also pursued a political career. Since 1995, he has served as a permanent member of the People's Assembly of Dagestan for seven convocations, representing United Russia. From 2010 to 2013, he served as parliament speaker. In 2021, the head of the region, Sergei Melikov, appointed him State Secretary of the republic. The position of State Secretary is honorary, but largely decorative – he deals with issues of interethnic harmony, oversees socially significant projects, participates in public events on behalf of the head of the republic, and presents state awards. Nevertheless, Magomedov was one of the most influential figures in Dagestani politics.
In 1991, Magomedov founded the Anzhi football club and became its president. In 2008, he sold half of the club to Igor Yakovlev, co-owner of the Eldorado chain, for 53 million rubles. In 2011, the club was sold to Senator Suleiman Kerimov.
On June 26, the Soviet District Court of Makhachkala upheld the Prosecutor General's Office's claim against Magomed-Sultan Magomedov and his relatives and seized the property of the former state-owned enterprise Dagnefteprodukt for state ownership.
According to the Prosecutor General's Office's lawsuit, Magomedov, using his "connections and authority," secured the conversion of federal property into private ownership, allowing him and his family members to seize real estate and production equipment belonging to Dagnefteprodukt. The company owned 67 land plots totaling over 310 hectares, more than 360 buildings, structures, and facilities, including pipelines, gas stations, storage tanks, and other infrastructure. The company was fragmented and partially registered to Magomedov's son and three daughters and companies controlled by him.
The official, who remains at large, appeared in court and admitted violating anti-corruption laws. The court ordered the state to seize 100% of the shares in the authorized capital of Kaspetrolservis LLC, the oil refineries Dagestanskie Novye Tekhnologii LLC and Nefteproduktsnab LLC, the management company MSB Holding LLC, and the real estate of the oil depot. The total value of the seized assets exceeds 100 billion rubles.
Law enforcement agencies had previously raised questions about the Gas Station Operator. In 2024, the Dagestani branch of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation opened a tax evasion case against the former CEO of Dagnotekh, Navruzbek Mugadzhirov, Magomed-Sultan Magomedov's son-in-law. According to investigators, the company owed over 2.05 billion rubles in taxes.
On July 1, the administration of the head of Dagestan announced that State Secretary of Dagestan Magomed-Sultan Magomedov had been dismissed. No reasons were given for the dismissal.
