Andrey Melnichenko
Russian industrialist; founder of the fertiliser producer EuroChem and the coal and energy company SUEK; under EU, UK and US sanctions
| Andrey Melnichenko
| |
|---|---|
| Image | .jpg) Andrey Melnichenko in Moscow, 2017 |
| Born | 8 March 1972 Gomel, Belarus (UK sanctions notice) |
| Nationality | Russian |
| Residence | Ras Al Khaimah, United Arab Emirates (Forbes); St Moritz, Switzerland (EU General Court, 2025) |
| Occupation | Industrialist |
| Known for | Founder of EuroChem and SUEK; founder of MDM Bank |
| Spouse(s) | Aleksandra Melnichenko |
| Children | 2 (Forbes) |
| Education | Plekhanov Russian University of Economics (Forbes) |
Andrey Melnichenko (Russian: Андрей Игоревич Мельниченко; born 8 March 1972) is a Russian industrialist who founded the fertiliser producer EuroChem and the coal and energy company SUEK.[1][2] He began in the early 1990s with currency-exchange kiosks and founded MDM Bank before moving into fertilisers and coal.[1] On 10 November 2026 the Forbes Real-Time Billionaires list ranked Melnichenko and his family 131st in the world, with an estimated net worth of US$20.4 billion; Forbes lists the source of wealth as fertilisers, coal.[1][3] In the annual World's Billionaires list published in 2026, Forbes had ranked Melnichenko and his family 127th, at US$20.4 billion.[4] The European Union and the United Kingdom placed him under sanctions in March 2022, after he was among the businesspeople who met Vladimir Putin on 24 February 2022, the day Russia invaded Ukraine; Forbes says the United States followed in August 2022.[5][2][1] In 2022 his wife Aleksandra became the beneficiary of the trust that holds stakes in EuroChem and SUEK, but the EU General Court held in January 2025 that this did not change his position, and it upheld the sanctions.[1][5]
Early life and education
The UK sanctions notice gives his date and place of birth as 8 March 1972 in Gomel, Belarus.[2] Forbes describes him as the son of a Soviet physicist who left university when the Soviet Union fell in 1991 to start a chain of currency-exchange booths; it lists him as a graduate of the Plekhanov Russian University of Economics.[1]
Business career
Two years after starting in currency exchange, Melnichenko founded MDM Bank.[1] Forbes says he then put money made in banking into fertilisers and coal, starting EuroChem, SUEK and the pipe maker TMK with his partner Sergei Popov; the two later split and divided their assets.[1] The EU General Court described him in 2025 as a Russian industrialist owning EuroChem Group and SUEK.[5] Forbes says his companies employ more than 100,000 people and have invested about US$23 billion in fertiliser and coal production over 15 years.[1] The National reported that EuroChem moved its headquarters to Zug, Switzerland, in 2015; the UK sanctions notice describes EuroChem as Swiss-headquartered and SUEK as Moscow-headquartered.[6][2]
Sanctions
The EU listed Melnichenko on 9 March 2022. Its stated reasons were that he belonged to "the most influential circle of Russian businesspeople with close connections to the Russian Government", that he was involved in sectors providing a substantial source of revenue to the Russian government, and that on 24 February 2022 he and 36 other businesspeople had met President Vladimir Putin and members of the government to discuss the impact of Western sanctions.[5][7] The UK designated him on 15 March 2022 as founder and former owner of SUEK and EuroChem, saying he had obtained a benefit from or supported the Government of Russia through companies in sectors of strategic significance to it; trust-services sanctions were added on 21 March 2023.[2] The Isle of Man published the same designation.[8] Forbes reports that the United States imposed sanctions in August 2022 and that Melnichenko called them "absurd and nonsensical".[1] In March 2022 Italy's Guardia di Finanza boarded his 143-metre sailing yacht, Sailing Yacht A, in dry dock in Trieste; Italian authorities valued it at about €530 million.[9][7] The yacht had been commissioned by Melnichenko in 2011. A spokesman told BOAT International that the sanctions were "baseless" and "unjustified".[9] Melnichenko told Reuters, as reported by The National, that "the events in Ukraine are truly tragic" and that peace was urgently needed.[6] Melnichenko challenged the EU listing. In its judgment of 22 January 2025 in Case T-271/22, the General Court noted that after he gave up his status as beneficiary of the trust it had passed to Aleksandra Melnichenko, "who was his wife at the time", and held that because she was not a third party unconnected with him this was not a relevant change in his situation. The court dismissed the action and ordered him to pay the Council's costs.[5] In 2025 the English Commercial Court held, in a case brought by EuroChem against Société Générale and ING over bonds for a fertiliser plant at Kingisepp in Russia, that payment was prohibited under EU sanctions because EuroChem was deemed to be controlled by Melnichenko.[10]
Wealth
Forbes lists his family's source of wealth as fertilisers and coal and classes him as self-made. It says he collects Impressionist art, including works by Claude Monet.[1]
Wealth history
Forbes has included this entry in its annual World's Billionaires list in 23 of the editions from 2001 to 2026 checked for this profile, starting with 2004. The table gives the rank and estimated net worth in each annual list.[4][1]
| Year | World's Billionaires rank | Net worth (US$ bn) |
|---|---|---|
| 2004 | 514 | 1.1 |
| 2005 | 548 | 1.2 |
| 2006 | 258 | 2.7 |
| 2007 | 172 | 4.6 |
| 2008 | 158 | 6.2 |
| 2009 | 701 | 1.0 |
| 2010 | 189 | 4.4 |
| 2011 | 105 | 8.6 |
| 2012 | 81 | 10.8 |
| 2013 | 56 | 14.4 |
| 2014 | 97 | 11.4 |
| 2015 | 137 | 9.1 |
| 2016 | 139 | 8.2 |
| 2017 | 89 | 13.2 |
| 2018 | 88 | 15.5 |
| 2019 | 90 | 13.8 |
| 2020 | 95 | 12.5 |
| 2021 | 105 | 17.9 |
| 2022 | 177 | 11.1 |
| 2023 | 58 | 25.2 |
| 2024 | 91 | 21.1 |
| 2025 | 115 | 17.4 |
| 2026 | 127 | 20.4 |
Philanthropy
His spokesman described him in 2022 as an "investor in children's education"; no specific gifts were documented in the sources checked.[9]
Political activity
No donations to political parties or candidates were documented in the sources checked. For his attendance at the meeting with Putin on 24 February 2022, see Sanctions.[5]
International and political links
This section uses the same ten headings for every profile in this series. Only specific, sourced actions are included; company-level and foundation-level actions are labelled as such. Where nothing was found, the entry reads "No documented involvement found in sources checked."
Israel (investments, operations, donations, contracts, statements)
No documented involvement found in sources checked.
Zionist or pro-Israel organisations and lobbying groups
No documented involvement found in sources checked.
Jewish communal charities
No documented involvement found in sources checked.
Gulf states
United Arab Emirates: Forbes gives his residence as Ras Al Khaimah.[1]
China
No documented involvement found in sources checked.
Russia
He attended the meeting of businesspeople with Vladimir Putin and members of the Russian government on 24 February 2022, which the EU cited as a reason for its sanctions.[5] The UK says he benefited from or supported the Russian government through EuroChem and SUEK.[2]
India
No documented involvement found in sources checked.
Palestinian or Arab causes
No documented involvement found in sources checked.
Home government
Russia: see the Russia entry above.[5]
Other international links
European Union, United Kingdom and United States: sanctions (see Sanctions).[5][2][1] Switzerland: EuroChem has been based in Zug since 2015, and the EU General Court gave his residence as St Moritz.[6][5] Italy: Sailing Yacht A was seized in Trieste in March 2022.[9]
Notes
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 Forbes, Forbes profile record for Andrey Melnichenko (Forbes data feed behind forbes.com/profile/andrey-melnichenko/) Forbes, live record, read 10 November 2026, accessed 10 November 2026.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 HM Treasury, Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation, Financial Sanctions Notice: Russia (11 October 2024) GOV.UK, 11 October 2024, accessed 10 November 2026.
- ↑ Forbes, Forbes Real-Time Billionaires data feed Forbes, live; downloaded 10 November 2026 13:47 UTC, accessed 10 November 2026.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Forbes, Forbes World's Billionaires list data feed, annual editions 2001–2026 (one file per year at this path with the year substituted; all 26 files downloaded and read) Forbes, annual lists; downloaded 20 October 2026, accessed 10 November 2026.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 5.7 5.8 5.9 General Court of the European Union, Judgment of 22 January 2025, Melnichenko v Council, Case T-271/22 InfoCuria (Court of Justice of the European Union), 22 January 2025, accessed 10 November 2026.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Neil Murphy, Sanctioned Russian billionaire Andrey Melnichenko calls for peace in Ukraine The National, 14 March 2022, accessed 10 November 2026.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Kelsey Vlamis, The $578 million megayacht owned by Russian oligarch Andrey Melnichenko was seized by Italy Business Insider, 12 March 2022, accessed 10 November 2026.
- ↑ Isle of Man Government, Financial Sanctions: Russia Isle of Man Government, 11 October 2024, accessed 10 November 2026.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 Holly Overton, 143m Nobiskrug superyacht Sailing Yacht A "arrested" in Trieste BOAT International, 14 March 2022, accessed 10 November 2026.
- ↑ Akshay Misra and Chris Ward, EuroChem v Societe Generale & Ors: a sanctions-driven barrier to payment enforcement Penningtons Manches Cooper, 27 October 2025, accessed 10 November 2026.