Sechin has honed the discreet persona as part of his other role, that of aide to Vladimir Putin, the Russian president. As deputy chief of staff at the Kremlin, Sechin is so close to the president — and so understated — that he has been christened the “grey cardinal”, the nickname Putin had when he was the right-hand man to the former president, Boris Yeltsin.
Putin made Sechin, 45, chairman of Rosneft after he allegedly masterminded the break-up of Yukos, the Russian oil giant that was headed by Mikhail Khodorkovsky. Rosneft was a beneficiary of the Kremlin’s raid on Yukos, acquiring the company’s main production asset, Yuganskneftegaz, through a mysterious third party in 2004.
Sechin’s next job will be to bring Rosneft to market in Russia in mid-July, with a secondary listing in London. The flotation, confirmed last week and potentially one of the biggest ever, has been dogged by controversy over how Rosneft came by Yuganskneftegaz.
The acquisition transformed Rosneft into a leading producer, with 15 billion barrels of proven oil reserves, but left it with unquantified legal liabilities as well as question marks over its governance procedures.
Investor unease in London at the legal and governance risks has been compounded by the fact that the Rosneft board is populated by government officials with close links to Putin.Putin chose Sechin to head his private office in the 1990s, when he became deputy mayor of St Petersburg. Sechin had distinguished himself on an official trip to Rio de Janeiro, where he acted as a Russian-Portuguese translator for Putin.
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These days Sechin is associated with a powerful but shadowy faction of the Kremlin known as the siloviki, who have their roots in the St Petersburg civil administration of the early 1990s or the KGB, the former secret police. In 2005, his power base in the administration was preserved by Rosneft's success in blocking an attempt by Gazprom to take it over. Gazprom is championed by a rival faction in the Kremlin.
Sechin may be the power behind the throne but the public face of Rosneft is Bogdanchikov. The chief executive has a steely blue-eyed gaze and a reputation for doing things his own way. Three years ago he aborted a business trip to Britain after Special Branch officers dared to search his bags when his jet landed at Biggin Hill.
Bogdanchikov fought his way up through the ranks at Rosneft, which he is credited with turning around since he took over in 1998.
Last month, Rosneft attempted to brush up its image in the West by appointing three independent directors, including Andrei Kostin, chairman of state-owned bank Vneshtorgbank. The western face was Hans-Jorg Rudloff, chairman of Barclays Capital. Rosneft’s finance director is also a westerner, former Morgan Stanley banker Peter O’Brien.
One of Britain’s largest fund managers, F&C, has advised investors to steer clear of Rosneft, saying it carried unacceptable risks. The new appointments have not changed its mind.
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Tom Johnson, the lawyer acting for American shareholders who are seeking compensation of $3.4m for the losses they incurred when Yukos’s assets were frozen, believes his case, if successful, could open the floodgates to claims worth up to $30 billion worldwide. He said: “The litigation will have some effect on what people are willing to pay for Rosneft shares.”
Despite the misgivings in the City and market volatility, Rosneft — and the Kremlin — are determined to go ahead with the flotation. “Given the G8 meeting in July, it would be a monumental loss of face if they pulled the flotation,” said one observer.