Former French Prime Minister François Fillon has been appointed to the board of directors of a Russian public oil group, Zaroubejneft, according to the list of its members available on Saturday on a site specializing in the disclosure of information about Russian companies.
According to this list, published by the Business Information Disclosure Center (managed by the Russian news agency Interfax), Mr. Fillon, French Prime Minister between 2007 and 2012, is a member of the board of directors of this group specializing in the development and exploitation of hydrocarbon deposits, particularly abroad, since June 28. Contacted by AFP, Zaroubejneft was not reachable for immediate comments.
Sentenced in June 2020 to five years in prison, two of which closed in a resounding case of fictitious jobs which had derailed his presidential campaign in 2017, François Fillon joined the Russian group as president of Apteras Sarl, the consulting company which he founded in 2017 and which already works with French companies established in Russia.
His candidacy for the Zaroubejneft board was proposed in early June by the Russian government.
Former German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder has been there for years
Other former senior foreign officials are already on the boards of Russian oil groups.
Former Austrian diplomat Karin Kneissl, who had danced a waltz with Russian President Vladimir Putin in 2018, was appointed in June to Russian oil giant Rosneft, where former German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder has already been present for several years.
Founded in 1967, the Zaroubejneft group's mission was to provide technical assistance to countries friendly to the USSR, in particular to build oil infrastructures and develop their hydrocarbon deposits.
Thus, he has participated in the realization of many projects in the oil sector, in particular in Algeria, Afghanistan, Vietnam, Egypt, India, Syria and Vietnam.