[2] Timchenko's investment firm Volga Group owns a large stake of shares of the natural gas giant Novatek.
[3] The Pandora Papers leaks revealed that a Timchenko firm, which played a key role in the Novatek investment, obtained massive loans through anonymous offshore shell companies.
[16] In 1976, he graduated from the Mechanical Institute of Saint Petersburg, then named Leningrad, as an electrical engineer, according to a 2008 interview with the Wall Street Journal.
[19][20] In 1991, Timchenko decided to leave Russia and was hired by a Finland-based company, Urals Finland Oy, specializing in importing Russian oil to Europe.
[25] Volga group holds his Russian and international assets in the energy, transport, infrastructure, financial services and consumer sectors.
Redut formations have been deployed to protect convoys, corporate real estate—including oil production facilities of JSC Stroytransgaz in Syria.
[36] Timchenko was the co-founder (along with Torbjörn Törnqvist) of the Gunvor Group, a corporation registered in Cyprus; it does business in trading and logistics related to the international energy market.
[37][38] The sale was made the day before Timchenko was included on the United States sanctions list in the wake of the annexing of Crimea by Russia.
Timchenko said he had sold his stake in anticipation of "potential economic sanctions" and to "ensure with certainty the continued and uninterrupted operations of Gunvor Group".
The fund, which consolidates Timchenko's assets, was renamed in June 2013 as Volga Group and introduced at the Saint Petersburg International Economic Forum.
[40] The purpose of this fund is "based on direct and indirect investments in value-driven assets in Russia and internationally that produce consistent, long-term returns".
[41] The group owns assets in the energy, transportation and infrastructure development, as well as financial services, consumer goods and real estate.
[43] Kai Paananen (Russian: Кай Паананен), a partner of Timchenko, has close ties to Airfix Aviation and the IPP companies.
[56][57] Sanctioned by Canada under the Special Economic Measures Act (S.C. 1992, c. 17) in relation to the Russian invasion of Ukraine for Grave Breach of International Peace and Security.
In theory, I could have cut down the transfers citing the rule on inadmissibility of dual taxation but I never did this–I realized the proceeds that my monies were going off in wages to Russian doctors, teachers, and the military while I was not going to go bankrupt under any circumstances.
"[14] The US Department of Treasury announcement of individuals under sanctions due to the annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation lists him as the citizen of Russia, Finland, and Armenia.
[76] In addition to business assets, Timchenko, according to media reports, also owns a property in Geneva, Switzerland, which consists of just over 1 ha of land, an internal area of 341m².
[81] In November 2014, The Wall Street Journal reported that the US Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York is examining allegations about transactions in which Gunvor Group bought oil from Russia's OAO Rosneft and sold it to third parties through the US financial system, which could have been illegal.
[85][86] In 2007, Timchenko and the company Surgutex founded the Kluch charitable foundation, which develops professional foster homes in Leningrad, Tambov and Ryazan regions.
[87][88] In 2008, Gennady and Elena Timchenko founded the Neva Foundation in Geneva,[89] in order to promote and finance cultural projects in Switzerland and Russia.
[95][96] The same year, he was also appointed Chairman of the Board of Directors and President of SKA Saint Petersburg, the leading ice hockey team.
According to unconfirmed reports[clarification needed] he funded the Finnish national team in the Davis Cup[101] and has sponsored a number of Russian tennis players.