So, we waited exactly one week after publishing our investigation into Deputy Prime Minister Shuvalov’s plane and his cheerful little trips.
Our dear public servant managed to rack up 170 million rubles a year (about US$2.6 million at the time) in flights, and that’s counting only trips to the dacha (country house) and dog shows.
Did Shuvalov himself offer any explanation over the past week? Seems like he should have—he is a government official, after all. No, he did not.
I can understand that he may have no desire whatsoever to explain himself to the ACF (Anti-Corruption Foundation), but what about the media? The public at large? You know, the people?
Nope—not a word of explanation to anyone.
The deputy prime minister’s wife, Olga Shuvalova, confirmed to us (you can listen to the recording) that they owned the plane. True, she later disavowed her own words in an interview with the BBC.
We consider Shuvalov’s use of the plane to be proven beyond any doubt. Its flights match his schedule, lots of people have flown on it, and lots of people service it. You can’t keep something like this secret—it’s not a hang glider, it’s a brand-new luxury jet worth $52 million. Hangar space, parking, maintenance, flight logs, border control, customs. Any official inspection would find our Mr. Shuvalov on that plane instantly.
Now for the most important part: why we’ve got this crook dead to rights.
From a legal standpoint, Shuvalov is carefully trying to conceal ownership of the plane, which is why it is registered to an offshore company.
But here’s the thing: a plane, even though it has wings and flies, is legally considered real estate.
For example, Shuvalov can avoid declaring his Rolls-Royce—that’s one way he gamed the system. Even the most expensive car is not considered real estate, but planes are treated differently.
So, we have established the following:
The plane either belongs to Shuvalov, or he simply uses it.
A plane is real estate.
Now let’s look at the disclosure rules—specifically the rules on public disclosure:
Not only real estate that is owned must be declared, but also real estate that is in use. And information about such use must be made public.
You can see for yourself—there is no plane in Shuvalov’s disclosures, and there never has been.
That gives us fact no. 3: Shuvalov did not declare the plane.
Now let’s see what the law prescribes for that:
For incomplete disclosure of one’s assets, the law provides for dismissal from office due to loss of trust.
That’s it, game over. Ownership, use, offshore company, registered in his own name—the result is the same. Shuvalov must be fired.
Here is the official appeal to the Presidential Administration’s Anti-Corruption Directorate, demanding that I. Shuvalov be removed from office due to loss of trust for knowingly providing incomplete information in his disclosure. It comes from a proper authorized party—a media outlet.
By the way, take note that deputy Oleg Shein also officially submitted an inquiry to Medvedev. Good for him—the only one in the entire State Duma to do so. I hope they re-elect him for another term in his hometown of Astrakhan.
Let’s stock up on popcorn and watch how the crooks try to save their fellow swindler’s skin this time. His hide is burning, and his hat is going up in flames.