Russia's Kudrin to leave Audit Chamber, opening door to Yandex move (updated)

VK

29/11/2022 07:15

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 (Adds Kudrin comment, details, context)
       MOSCOW, Nov 29 (Reuters) - Former Russian finance
minister Alexei Kudrin said on Tuesday he would step down as
head of the Audit Chamber to focus on private initiatives, with
sources expecting him to take up a role at Russian technology
giant Yandex  YNDX.O .
    Kudrin, who has been seen as both a pro-Western economic
liberal and close ally of President Vladimir Putin throughout
his career, would become the highest profile government official
to leave a post since Russia sent tens of thousands of troops
into Ukraine in February.
    "In total, I spent about 25 years in the public sector,"
Kudrin wrote on his Telegram channel. "Now I would like to
concentrate on big projects, which are linked with the
development of broadly private initiatives, but which also have
a significant impact on people."
    The RIA news agency reported that the upper house of
parliament, the Federation Council, would consider the proposal
in a session on Wednesday after the Kremlin sent a document
requesting Kudrin be released from his post. 
    He served as a powerful finance minister for more than a
decade between 2000 and 2011, and while maintaining close ties
with Putin, Kudrin kept a relatively low profile in his current
role as head of the Audit Chamber, Russia's public spending
watchdog.
    In a late-night meeting last week, Kudrin and Putin
discussed Yandex's future, three people familiar with the matter
told Reuters. 
    Sources said Kudrin was expected to take up a role with the
company, which last week announced a review of a possible
sweeping governance overhaul that could see its Dutch parent
company separate, selling most services in Russia and taking
some international-focused business units with it.
    Yandex, often dubbed "Russia's Google" dominates Russia's
online search and ride-hailing markets, but has come under
increasing pressure since Russia started what it calls a
"special military operation" in Ukraine and has sold several
departments seen as politically sensitive - such as its news
service - to state-controlled rival VK.
 (Reporting by Marina Bobrova, Jake Cordell and Alexander
Marrow; Editing by Himani Sarkar)
 ((alexander.marrow@thomsonreuters.com))