On March 10, Vladimir Putin appointed Igor Chaika, the son of former Prosecutor General Yuri Chaika, as the deputy head of Rossotrudnichestvo. The decree was published on the legal acts portal.
In 2020, Chaika Jr. was appointed as the presidential envoy to the North Caucasian Federal District. Igor Chaika is involved in the waste management business, among his related assets is a major waste disposal operator "Khartiya," servicing parts of Moscow, the Moscow region, and neighboring regions under multi-billion contracts. Among Chaika's partners is Alexander Dodon, the brother of former Moldovan President Igor Dodon, with whom they jointly own the companies "Industrial Environmental Operator" and "Archplay Development."
In October 2022, the US authorities included him in the sanctions list for developing plans to discredit the Moldovan president's authority and return the country to Russia's sphere of influence. At the same time, the US authorities also included the code YFYA9 as an alternative name for Chaika, which was used by Rosreestr to encrypt Chaika's surname.
In May 2023, the EU imposed sanctions against Igor Chaika, calling him Russia's "wallet," who redirects FSB funds to Moldova to "bring the country back under Kremlin control." Moreover, a month later, he was sanctioned by the EU again for "creating a vast business empire based on state contracts and thanks to his father" and "conducting business activities in occupied Crimea."
Western authorities have repeatedly accused Russia of using Rossotrudnichestvo for covert operations abroad. The "Dossier" Center* released an investigation in 2021 about the work of FSB and SVR personnel under the "cover" of Rossotrudnichestvo.
* Recognized as a "foreign agent" in Russia.