Russian Prosecutor General Yuri Chaika told Tass in an interview that his sons successfully did business on their own, and he never interfered in it. "The sons achieve everything by their own labor, they are smart guys with brains. I never lobbied them anywhere, both created their own business. From scratch! Both the elder and the yonger," he said.

He added that his sons received state orders. "But there was no 300 billion rubles, as Vedomosti wrote back in 2015. Not even close figures, the amount was many times less," he assured. 

Chaika added that his son Igor "always accurately, efficiently and on time fulfilled his obligations" as well as invested "hundreds of millions of rubles" of personal funds to charitable projects in the Moscow region when he was adviser to the governor of the Moscow region Andrey Vorobyov. Chaika said his son "is engaged in charity, not for any reward or thanks, but because his heart called him."

He noted that his son Artem "also devotes much time to those who need it" and "often takes something the others refuse." "So, in 2014 he bought OMV company from Russian Railways, which united nearly two dozen gravel plants, and in a short time made it profitable," the prosecutor general gave an example. He said that information that his son became a monopolist in the market after buying VSTPK was nonsense: "To make it clear: VSTPK share is only 8% of the total salt produced in Russia. What kind of monopoly is that?"

According to the Attorney General, Artem Chaika will build a new plant in the Kaluga region and develop Vorobiev deposit of rock salt. The investment will amount to 2-2.5 bln rubles: "The son invested his own money. Who could it harm?"

He also spoke about Igor Chaika's plans, recalling that his son last fall began negotiations with Alibaba Group to establish a Russian national pavilion at the site of the Chinese online retailer. "Igor has a company focused on the sale of food products from Russia. It started to work in the summer of last year, both online and offline," he said, noting that wassupposed to be a very promising project. Also, "Igor implements a number of infrastructure projects in Iran, builds up a mushroom farm and compost production near Moscow," Chaika said.

"I am pleased that things are going well for the sons, but do not think that I flatter Artem and Igor. No, I'm giving a real assessment. The details of their business, that I never interfered with, but my words they usually listen to, follow my advice," said the prosecutor general. He said that neither he nor his children were not related to a change in the Rosreestr list of Artem and Igor's names to LSDU3 and YFYAU9.

"Everything that we have, that earned, we officially declare, report to the relevant authorities. The house I live in, was photographed from a helicopter, and aircraft, now only a space satellite remains. In Uspenskoye, in Gorki-8 ... What did they want to see? What they were looking for?" asked the prosecutor general.