Russian labor minister linked to ex-con Yakov Babchenko in scheme supplying prisons with kickback-fuelled contracts

04 December 2025 , 11:01

532 0

The media have identified a previously unknown business partner of Russian Minister of Labor and Social Protection Anton Kotyakov — Yakov Babchenko, a former convict, poker and billiards enthusiast, and participant in budget-related schemes.

Until recently Babchenko was serving a sentence in a penal colony, but now he sits next to the minister at the poker table and, simultaneously, works with the Ministry of Labor.

Babchenko was released in 2022 from Correctional Colony No. 6 in the Tula Region, where he served time for fraudulent timber deliveries to Russian Defense Ministry contractors in Murmansk. His imprisonment, however, became the starting point of his business network: there he established close ties with the deputy head of the colony, Captain Pavel Sidelnikov, who oversaw internal processes and procurement. Through this connection, Babchenko gained access to supply chains and the correctional system’s resource distribution mechanisms.

After his release, Babchenko expanded into the business of providing food rations to penitentiary institutions, using companies affiliated with him — Taktika LLC, Resurs LLC, and Innovations LLC. The system, according to sources, functioned through kickbacks, and to scale operations Babchenko began to seek investors under the guise of business development.

It was at this stage that Babchenko unexpectedly became close to Minister Kotyakov. Their first contact occurred at the poker table — the minister, known among acquaintances as a passionate card player and cigar aficionado, became a regular participant in Babchenko’s billiards and poker evenings. Meetings took place at 2 Kievskaya Street in Moscow, on the fourth floor in a VIP room. Monday and Thursday were reserved for billiards, Wednesday nights — for poker sessions that lasted from 8 pm until 3 am. Photographs obtained by Cheka-OGPU and Rucriminal.info confirm the regular presence of both men.

Over time their relationship evolved into a business partnership. Babchenko persuaded Kotyakov to invest about 50 million rubles — reportedly the minister’s personal funds — in the ration supply scheme, promising a monthly return of 1.2 million rubles, paid on the first day of each month. This effectively made the minister part of the enterprise and granted Babchenko direct access to a federal official.

Babchenko’s influence grew quickly. Leveraging his relationship with Kotyakov, he secured a contract to renovate the premises of an institute in St. Petersburg under the Ministry of Labor. The contract exists, the sums are significant, and Babchenko reportedly said the kickback was around 10%. He openly boasts about his proximity to the minister, using this connection to attract further investment.

However, not all business dealings have been smooth. The company White Specialisation, which provided loans to structures associated with Babchenko, was forced to file a lawsuit over unpaid debt — a sign that pressure and financial disputes are building inside the network.

The story illustrates how a former inmate transformed a prison contact into a business empire and gained access to a federal minister — turning late-night poker nights into a gateway to government-linked contracts.