After serving in various Russian government roles since the late 1990s, including as President Vladimir Putin’s aide, Shuvalov rose to prominence when appointed first deputy prime minister in 2008. He remained in the position for a decade before leaving government to take on his current chairmanship of the state development corporation, Vnesheconombank or VEB.RF.

His and his family’s extravagant lifestyle, private fortune, and offshore dealings have been covered in international media. According to Alexei Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Foundation, Shuvalov “was instrumental in creating the system of state corruption which has come to dominate the country’s institutions.”