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Steven Michael TheedeFormer President of NK Yukos
Date of Birth: 31.03.1952
Country:  USA |
Content:
Biography of Steven Michael Theede
Steven Michael Theede was born on March 31, 1952, in Hutchinson, Kansas, USA. He graduated from Kansas State University in 1974 with a degree in mechanical engineering. From 1974 to 2003, he worked in various divisions of the American oil company Conoco.
In November 2002, Theede received an invitation from Mikhail Khodorkovsky, who was then the head of the company, to join Yukos. In the spring of 2003, an agreement was reached, and Theede started working for the company. He held various positions, including the first vice president of operations, chairman of the board of Yukos, acting president of Yukos-Moscow LLC, and chairman of the board of Yukos-Moscow LLC.
In March 2004, the leadership of Yukos nominated Theede for the position of president of Sibneft. On June 25, 2004, he was approved as the chairman of the board of Yukos. He also served as the chairman of the board of Yukos-Moscow LLC from 2004 to 2005.
Theede implemented a policy of radical restructuring of the company's assets and made efforts to pay off the company's tax debts to the government and maintain its presence in the global oil market. He strongly criticized the decision to sell Yuganskneftegaz, calling it "expropriation" and "organized government theft for political purposes."
On February 17, 2005, Theede participated in hearings in the US Senate Committee. In his speech, he called for more active opposition from Washington to the dangerous centralization of power in Russia. In May 2005, Theede became the president of Yukos, and after the reorganization in May 2005, he also assumed the position of chairman of the board of Yukos RM, a division responsible for refining and marketing petroleum products.
On March 14, 2006, the Federal Migration Service (FMS) announced that Theede "lacked a work permit, which was a gross violation of the law." In response, on March 16, the press service of Yukos confirmed his authority as president, emphasizing that Theede was performing his duties outside of Russia (in the UK), and Russian legislation did not prohibit the organization of his work in this way. On July 19, 2006, Theede resigned, stating that all possibilities to regain control of the company's assets or compensate for the damage done to it had been exhausted.
On August 1, 2006, Theede stepped down as president of Yukos and also resigned from the board of directors of Yukos, the chairman of the board of Yukos-RM, and the positions of chairman of the board and president of Yukos-Moscow. On August 18, 2006, the Russian Prosecutor General's Office initiated a criminal case against Theede. He was accused of embezzlement or misappropriation of entrusted property and money laundering, acquired through criminal means. By that time, Theede had already left Russia to avoid prosecution. The bankruptcy proceedings of Yukos were completed in November 2007.
