Alexander Konovalov has been arrested in Moscow in a case involving large-scale fraud, according to sources cited by Novaya-Europe. They said the detention was carried out by the FSB amid growing interest in the activities of Rosimushchestvo, Russia’s state property agency. Sources quoted by RBC also confirmed the arrest and said Konovalov was placed under house arrest. According to the outlet, another executive linked to a nationalized asset, SG-Trans director Sergey Chekanov, was arrested as well.
Earlier, Novaya-Europe published an investigation into how Rosimushchestvo manages major private companies that were transferred to the state through the so-called nationalization campaign. Over the past four years, assets worth a total of 2.5 trillion rubles have moved into state ownership, yet only a few public cash auctions for their sale have taken place.
The investigation concluded that people appointed to run these assets were often connected to influential groups, including those close to the Patrushev and Rotenberg clans, as well as to Rosimushchestvo itself. The outlet says they were paid millions of rubles per month for this work.
In May 2025, Konovalov became head of the agricultural trader Rodnye Polya, formerly known as Rif, after the company came under state control. Although part of that period fell during the May holidays, he received 11 million rubles for the month. Alexander Korotonozhkin, who worked alongside him, received another 6 million rubles.
“At some point Konovalov was appointed to the company by Rosimushchestvo, and economist Korotonozhkin arrived with him. No one knows what they were doing. They lasted only a month, then others came in, and nobody really explained the reshuffle,” a former top manager at Rodnye Polya told the outlet on condition of anonymity.
According to the source, before nationalization the director of Rodnye Polya earned about 800,000 rubles a month. Before that, Konovalov and Korotonozhkin had worked together for about a year at Kardioelektronika, which was nationalized in June 2024. There, Konovalov received nearly 7 million rubles, while Korotonozhkin was paid 6.5 million rubles.
Since May 2025, Konovalov has also headed Vektor Rail, the parent structure of a major railcar leasing holding. Over two months of work, according to the latest available data, he received nearly 3 million rubles. A Novaya-Europe source claims that investigators’ concerns are tied specifically to that company. In April 2025, Vektor Rail, SG-Trans and other companies in the holding were transferred to Rosimushchestvo. According to the outlet, Arkady Rotenberg had an interest in the asset, while Chekanov had previously worked in his business structures. The source says Rotenberg is viewed as a possible interested party in the case in which Konovalov and Chekanov are accused of siphoning assets from a state-owned company.