Gazprom members, such as Chernomyrdin and the Gazprom Chief Executive Officer, Rem Viakhirev, engaged in asset-stripping. Gazprom assets were shared amongst their relatives. Itera, a gas trading company also received Gazprom assets. In March 1998, for reasons unrelated to his activities at Gazprom, Chernomyrdin was fired by Yeltsin. On 30 June 1998, Chernomyrdin was made Chairman of the Board of Directors of Gazprom. When, in June 2000, Vladimir Putin became the President of Russia, he acted to gain control over Russia's oligarchs, and increase the Government of Russia's control in important companies through a program of national champions. Putin fired Chernomyrdin
Energy in Ukraine a "lack of convergence in the positions of [Uglesintezgaz] and the energy ministry". Corruption is one of the top problems in Ukraine, characterised as a systemic phenomenon, which exists in all sections and levels of the public administration. Ukraine gets gas from Gazprom via third parties. Gazprom did not publish any reporting on anti-corruption programmes. In 2015 corruption allegations were made against Energoatom, Ukraine's nuclear power operator, with concerns raised by Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk. In March 2016, Energoatom's assets and bank accounts were frozen by Ukrainian courts over allegedly unpaid debts, against which Energoatom is appealing. Energy in Ukraine