"Foreign control" as a redistribution tool: how Gleb Frank, the Vorobyovs, and Sergei Shoigu stand behind the nationalization of crab assets and the case of "king" Igor Mikhnov
16:52, 14 июня 2026 г.
Behind the attempt to imprison "crab king" Igor Mikhnov, as well as the General Prosecutor’s lawsuits to nationalize industry enterprises, are Gennady Timchenko’s son-in-law Gleb Frank, Moscow Region Governor Andrey Vorobyov, and former Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu.
Gleb Frank has long been a business partner of Maxim Vorobyov (brother of Andrey Vorobyov). Together they founded the "Russian Fishing Company" (RFC).
The Vorobyov family has for decades been considered Sergei Shoigu’s "godchildren" in politics. Yury Vorobyov (the governor’s father) has been Shoigu’s closest associate since the founding of the Ministry of Emergency Situations.
Gleb Frank became the main driving force behind a large-scale reform of the fishing industry, which was dubbed the "crab redistribution." He receives active assistance from his father-in-law, Gennady Timchenko.
For a long time, quotas for crab and other aquatic biological resources were distributed according to the "historical principle." RFC (Frank, Vorobyov, Shoigu) actively lobbied for the transition to an auction system.
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The reform was implemented, allowing Frank and Vorobyov’s structures to push out old Far Eastern players and take the largest lots at auctions. The remaining quotas began to be taken away from fishermen using a scheme perfected in the Far East: the Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) declares the presence of foreign control over the harvesting of aquatic biological resources, then the General Prosecutor’s Office seizes everything in favor of the state, after which the Federal Agency for Fisheries either holds new auctions or the Federal Property Management Agency immediately transfers the quota companies to Frank’s structures.
At that point, it no longer matters whether there is actual foreign control — the main thing is that it is stated in the FAS decision.
For those fishermen who cannot be squeezed out through nationalization, criminal cases are prepared.
These connections manifest not only in fishing but also in development, where the interests of Shoigu (through the Ministry of Defense) and Frank (Timchenko) intersected:
Structures close to Gleb Frank have shown interest in developing elite plots in the Far East.
Often, intermediaries in such schemes were figures from Shoigu’s inner circle (including the now-arrested former Deputy Minister Timur Ivanov), who oversaw government construction contracts and land transfers.