The Moscow Region Arbitration Court has ruled to nationalize Domodedovo Airport, one of Russia’s busiest aviation hubs, in response to a lawsuit filed by the Prosecutor-General’s Office.  The decision, made on June 17, is subject to immediate enforcement, Meduza reports, citing court documents.

The legal action was initiated in January 2025, with 32 defendants named in the case, including the airport’s operating companies and its principal beneficiaries — Russian businessmen Valery Kogan and Dmitry Kamenshchik.

Foreign citizenship cited as legal basis

The Prosecutor General’s Office argued that both Kamenshchik — a dual citizen of Turkey and the UAE — and Kogan, who holds Israeli citizenship, violated Russian law by managing a company deemed strategically important to national security.  According to prosecutors, the two men orchestrated transactions transferring control of the Domodedovo group to foreign entities starting in 2016.

The authorities sought to nullify those transactions and demanded the transfer of 100% ownership of DME Holding LLC — the company that controls the airport's assets — to the state.  As part of the legal proceedings, the court froze the assets and property of both Kogan and Kamenshchik.

A decades-long privatization story ends

Domodedovo Airport, located southeast of Moscow, was built between 1957 and 1963 and officially opened in May 1965.  Kommersant reports that the airport received international status in 1992, and privatization began in 1996.

Under the initial privatization deal, three entities were created from the Domodedovo production complex, two of which later came under the control of the East Line Group.  By 1998, the airport’s property was leased for a 75-year term.

In 2005, Russia’s Federal Property Management Agency attempted to return the facility to state ownership, but the Supreme Arbitration Court upheld its private ownership under Cyprus-based Hacienda Investments Ltd.

In January 2025, the Prosecutor General’s Office successfully petitioned for the seizure of DME Holding’s shares, citing the foreign citizenship of its beneficiaries and what it called the unlawful management of a strategic asset.

Strategic importance

Domodedovo features two runways and is equipped to receive all classes of aircraft. In the first 10 months of 2024, the airport handled 13.3 million passengers — roughly 20% of the total passenger traffic of Moscow’s air transport hub.