Offshore companies
Ronnieville Ltd., British Virgin Islands (BVI)
Connection
Alexey Ulyukaev’s son, Dmitry, was the head of the company. Subsequently, power was handed over to Yulia Khryapina, believed to be Alexey Ulyukaev’s wife.
What’s interesting
Ronnieville was in operation from November 2004 until May 2009. During that time Alexey Ulyukayev was the first Deputy Chairman of the Central Bank of Russia. Although it’s not illegal for his son to head an offshore company, Dmitry Ulyukaev was only 21 at the time.
Ronnieville was established in BVI in November 2004, about seven months after Alexey Ulyukaev quit as the Deputy Minister of Finance and became Deputy Chairman at the Central Bank. The stockholder of the company was a proxy, while Ulyukaev’s son Dmitry was appointed head of the company. Meanwhile, Dmitry was already engaged in business activities in Russia: he was a co-owner of Yurusstroy, a Moscow-based company that was dissolved in 2008.
In 2006, Ronnieville saw a shift in management: 23-year-old Yulia Khryapina took over Dmitry’s position. Khryapina kept the post until the company was dissolved in May 2009. A copy of Khryapina’s passport is stored in the Mossack Fonseca database as documentation pertaining to the offshore company’s director.
While it is not certain that Khryapina is Alexey Ulyukaev’s wife, there are strong indications that she is. Khryapina was born in Crimea, according to her passport. Recent anticorruption declarations show that Ulyukaev, a man born, raised and still living in Moscow, owns five parcels of land and two houses in Crimea, all registered in Khryapina’s name.
According to the website of the Gaidar Institute of Economic Policy, Yulia Sergeevna Khryapina is employed there as a research fellow in economics, while Alexey Ulyukaev used to serve as the Deputy Head of the Gaidar Institute.
Reporters were unable to contact Yulia Khryapina. Dmitry Ulyukaev declined to comment on the offshore issue.
Minister Ulyukaev’s official press secretary did reply, but did not address a single question reporters had asked. Here is the response:
"The Minister of Economic Development of Russia, Alexey Ulyukaev, assumed office on 24 June 2013. Prior to this, from 2004 to 2013, Alexey Ulyukaev was a first vice-deputy of the Central Bank of Russia. The information concerning income and expenses of Alexey Ulyukaev, his spouse and underage children, was provided and is currently provided according to Russian legislation.”
