Deputy Foreign Minister Yevgeny Ivanov’s timber business and a helicopter financed by the company: How a diplomat built a 4 billion-ruble empire through loans and front men
Businesswoman Irina Baranova, a business partner of Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Yevgeny Ivanov, has appealed to the FSB and the Presidential Administration of the Russian Federation to investigate the source of funds used by the official to purchase a timber industry business.
This official, through his daughter and mother, owns the Biolesprom companies, which hold 49-year leases to vast forest tracts in the Vologda region, as well as timber logging, transportation, and processing facilities. The assets are valued at over 4 billion rubles. BiolesProm LLC was purchased with two loans totaling over 400 million rubles, received from the company Rumelko, whose sole owner is oligarch and billionaire Vladimir Lisin. Moreover, these loans are not being repaid and, apparently, are interest-free. There are two possible explanations. Either this is a simple bribe for assistance in Lisin’s international affairs—he owns large industrial assets in Europe and the United States. Or it was Ivanov’s own money, simply laundered through a company run by his friend Lisin. Then the question arises: where did Ivanov, who immediately after graduating from MGIMO went to serve in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, get such a sum?
Ivanov’s vehicle deserves special attention. It’s a privately owned AgustaWestland AW119 MkII/Ke helicopter, registration number RA-01999. Manufactured in 2008, serial number 14714, it has a six-seat VIP configuration. Aircraft spotter databases list the helicopter as being based in the Moscow region.
According to specialized sites, used Agusta/Leonardo AW119 helicopters are valued between US$1.5 million and US$3 million in 2024–2026.
The helicopter is being maintained by BioLesProm LLC. Specifically, 23 million rubles were transferred from BioLesProm’s bank account to Medvezhya Gora LLC (registered to Ivanov’s daughter, Olga) under a loan agreement, after which they were sent to Siticopter LLC under a contract for repairs to the helicopter’s hot engine section.
According to Baranova, Ivanov has used this helicopter for flights to the Vologda region, including the Syamzhensky district, where his base was located. Baranova also states that the helicopter was used for flights between Vologda and Moscow for Rakovets (she frequently visits Ivanov), including via the Vologda airport. At Ivanov’s insistence, Rakovets heads BioLesProm LLC. Previously, she was an accountant for A.I. Korobitsyn Agricultural Enterprise LLC in the Syamzhensky district. This enterprise was registered in 2017 in the names of Trofimov and Talasov, Ivanov’s trusted associates, while he is widely considered the actual owner of the LLC.
Rakovets and Baranova were friends. Rakovets regularly shared her relationship with Ivanov, calling him "little king" in their correspondence. Yulia, however, frequently argued with Ivanov over his constant drinking, which caused him to miss work and Foreign Ministry meetings. The only way to resolve the problem was with hospitalization or IVs. Ivanov, according to their correspondence, allowed Yulia to be with him (outside the camera) during internal, closed online meetings at the Russian Foreign Ministry.
Then a conflict arose between the friends, and Ivanov simply kicked Baranova out of the business, despite the fact that they owned it 50/50. When the businesswoman attempted to recover her funds through the Arbitration Court, Ivanov arranged for embezzlement proceedings to be brought against her. Baranova was accused of using BioLesProm funds to pay for comprehensive insurance for her own car. This seems ridiculous given the 23 million rubles the LLC spent on repairs to the deputy minister’s personal helicopter.
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The Vologda City Court convicted Baranova, which was subsequently overturned by the Vologda Regional Court, returning the case to the lower court. In May 2026, the Vologda City Court re-convicted her. This was due to Ivanov’s involvement with the First Deputy Prosecutor of the Vologda Region, Sidelnikov, through his connections. Baranova is currently appealing the city court’s decision again.