Suleiman Kerimov: biography of a billionaire, politician and philanthropist. Suleiman Kerimov prefers exclusively star women Senator Suleiman Kerimov when and where was he born

Suleiman Abusaidovich Kerimov was born on March 12, 1966 in Derbent (Dagestan). In 1983 he graduated from high school (with a gold medal) and entered the construction department of the Dagestan Polytechnic Institute. After the first year, he was drafted into the army (deferment for full-time university students was then cancelled). In 1984-1986 he served in the Strategic Missile Forces. He received the rank of senior sergeant and was the head of the Strategic Missile Forces crew. In the army I did a lot of sports - I became the champion of the division in kettlebell lifting.

Returning from the army in 1986, Kerimov transferred to the Faculty of Economics of the Dagestan State University (DSU). During his studies, he was deputy chairman of the university trade union committee. In 1989, he graduated from high school with a diploma in "Accounting and Analysis of Economic Activities" and went to work at the Eltav plant of the Ministry of Electronic Industry - one of the best enterprises in the defense industry. He worked at the plant until 1995, rising from an ordinary economist to assistant general director for economic issues.

In 1995, thanks to the established circle of acquaintances among Moscow businessmen and officials, Kerimov received an offer to become deputy general director of the Soyuz-Finance company. This Moscow company worked in the domestic aviation business, raw materials industries and the banking sector. Kerimov accepted the offer.

In April 1997, Kerimov became a researcher at the International Institute of Corporations (Moscow), and in February 1999 he was appointed vice president of this non-profit organization.

It was in the 1990s that Kerimov, according to media reports, earned his initial capital. In October 1998, for $50 million, Kerimov acquired 55 percent of the shares of the investment company OJSC Nafta-Moscow (traded oil and petroleum products, was created on the basis of the Soyuznefteexport association) from its management, within a year he increased his stake in the company to 100 percent and This is how he became the owner of the company.

In December 1999, Kerimov was dismissed from the post of vice-president of the International Institute of Corporations in connection with his election as a deputy of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation (he entered the Duma of the third convocation on the federal list from the Zhirinovsky Bloc).

Having become a deputy, Karimov did not retire. According to his friends, he still had full control of his company, and the source of Kerimov’s capital was the purchase of assets. At that time, according to media reports, a “soft” (without affiliated structures) business alliance developed between Kerimov and Roman Abramovich, and later business relations were established with the owner of Basic Element, Oleg Deripaska (according to some reports, the alliance existed by November 2006).

In 2000, Nafta-Moscow bought the Varyeganneftegaz company. In 2001, Kerimov, together with the structures of Abramovich and Deripaska, received a share in the business of Andrei Andreev, which consisted of more than a hundred companies: Avtobank (by 2006 it became part of the Uralsib corporation), Ingosstrakh, Ingosstrakh-Russia Insurance Company (now Russia"), Ingosstrakh-Soyuz Bank (now Soyuz), Nosta and others. At the same time, Kerimov’s company, which was once one of the largest oil traders in Russia, moved further and further from its original activities and in 2002 practically curtailed oil trading.

On December 7, 2003, Kerimov was re-elected to the State Duma. He entered the Duma of the fourth convocation on the federal list from the LDPR. The deputy was appointed deputy chairman of the State Duma Committee on Physical Culture and Sports, and was also included in the security committee.

At the end of 2003 and in 2004, Nafta began buying land in the Moscow region on Novorizhskoye Highway. On these lands it was planned to build 2.7 million square meters of luxury housing and entertainment complexes. The cost of the project was estimated at $3 billion. The project was named the private city "Rublevo-Arkhangelskoye". By 2006, it already occupied 430 hectares of land.

In November 2005, the International Federation of United Wrestling Styles (FILA) presented Kerimov with one of the most prestigious awards - the Golden Order. FILA President Rafael Martinetti expressed a desire to personally present the award to the deputy in order to “express gratitude and respect to the person who supports wrestling in Russia and around the world” (by 2005, Nafta-Moscow became the general sponsor of the Russian national freestyle wrestling team).

At the end of 2005, Nafta bought Polymetal, Russia's second gold mining company, for $900 million and planned to list about 25 percent of its shares on the stock exchange. In February 2006, Kerimov decided to turn Nafta-Moscow into a full-fledged investment company, turning it into a leading private equity fund.

By 2006, Nafta, according to official data, owned more than 6 percent of the shares of Sberbank (about $1.6 billion at current prices) and more than 4 percent of the shares of Gazprom ($10.4 billion), cable television operators in Moscow and St. Petersburg - Mosteleset (Nafta owns 59 percent of the shares of the enterprise) and National Cable Networks, almost 20 percent of the shares of Bin-Bank, two percent of the shares of OJSC MGTS and 91 percent of the shares of the Krasnopresnensky Sugar Refinery Plant (in August 2006, shares of the plant, bought by Nafta from two rival companies were sold to the PIK group (according to media reports, Kerimov made money on resale).In addition, the company owned 50 percent of the shares of the Mercado supermarket chain.

By that time, resale transactions, including in the real estate market, had become Kerimov’s strong point. In April 2006, his Nafta became a co-owner of Mosstroyekonombank, which owns Smolensky Passage, in June it gained control of the Razvitie SEC, which unites three construction companies, and in July notified the mayor of Moscow that it owns 17 percent of the holding's shares." Mospromstroy". None of these acquisitions remained with Nafta: Development was bought by Deripaska's Basic Element, Mospromstroy and Mosstroyekonombank - the BIN group.

In May 2006, Kerimov headed the Board of Trustees of the Russian Wrestling Federation. According to the president of the federation, Mikhail Mamiashvili, the decision to establish a Board of Trustees and appoint its head was made because, for the effective implementation of the tasks facing the Russian Wrestling Federation, long-term interaction with state sports management bodies and large national business structures has become crucial.

Soon after this, information appeared in the press that the Dynamo football club could be bought by Kerimov, since the owner of this club and the Fedcominvest company, Alexey Fedorychev, intended to completely abandon his sports business in Russia. This information was based on the fact that Kerimov had already tried to enter the football business more than once. In 2004, representatives of Nafta-Moscow negotiated the purchase of a controlling stake in the Italian Roma (the deal did not take place); a little later, Kerimov almost concluded an agreement with the government of the Moscow region on financing the Saturn football club (a deal worth 60 million dollars fell through at the last moment). In 2005, the Nafta-Moscow company became one of the sponsors of the Russian Football Union.

In July, Kerimov, together with Deripaska and Abramovich, acquired a stake in the state oil company Rosneft (the company that at the end of 2004 bought the former subsidiary of the Yukos oil company, Yuganskneftegaz). And in August 2006, reports appeared in the press that Nafta-Moscow intended to buy out the debts of NK YUKOS (On August 1, the Moscow Arbitration Court declared YUKOS bankrupt, and from that moment on, any third-party investor could pay off creditors " Yukos" to actually gain control over its assets). It was alleged that Kerimov negotiated such a possibility with Yukos President Stephen Theede. Later, the Nafta press service officially denied these reports.

In mid-November 2006, journalists learned that Kerimov had decided to start a hotel business in Moscow. On November 21, 2006, the Nafta company and the Moscow government announced the creation of the United Hotel Company OJSC (authorized capital - $ 2 billion), to which the shares of more than 20 hotels on the city's balance sheet were transferred (including Balchug, Metropol ", "National" and "Radisson-Slavyanskaya"). It was assumed that participation in the project would make Nafta one of the leaders in the Moscow hotel market.

In the list of the richest people in the world compiled by Forbes magazine in 2006, Kerimov took 72nd place. His fortune, according to the magazine, reached $7.1 billion. In addition, according to media reports, back in August 2005, Kerimov became one of the 50 richest Russians who own their own aircraft - he purchased a BBJ airliner (a business version of the Boeing 737-700, worth approximately $50 million).

On November 25, 2006, Kerimov was in a car accident. According to the newspaper Nice Matin, the car in which the deputy and his companion were driving along the Promenade des Anglais in Nice crashed into a tree and caught fire. Kerimov was taken to the specialized hospital de la Timone in Marseille with severe burns. According to eyewitnesses of the accident, he managed to get out of the car himself and tried to knock out the flames from his clothes. The businessman's companion, TV presenter of the STS channel Tina Kandelaki, according to journalists, suffered less. She was taken to Saint-Roch Hospital and discharged the same day.

Sources close to Kerimov told reporters that his life was not in danger. At the same time, an employee in the management of the de la Timone hospital told Vedomosti that Kerimov was connected to an artificial respiration apparatus and was in an induced coma. The doctor did not predict the patient’s condition, saying only that Kerimov “is stable and is under medical supervision.” It was also reported that in addition to burns, the deputy also received a traumatic brain injury. As for Kerimov’s companion, according to Alexander Rodnyansky, president of CTC Media (the company where Kandelaki works), on November 26 she was already in Moscow.

Initially, the investigation assumed that Kerimov, who was driving the car, lost control when he overtook. The police were inclined to this version because the speed limit on the embankment was 50 miles per hour, that is, about 70 kilometers per hour. According to the police, as a result of Kerimov's maneuver, the car - a Ferrari Enzo, worth 675 thousand euros - hit the pavement, then it was thrown into a tree, and the impact hit the gas tank.

Kandelaki did not confirm her participation in the road accident for some time, insisting that she had not been to Nice at all, but was at home in Moscow because she had contracted the mumps. Later, the TV presenter admitted that she was with Kerimov in his car, and added that she told about the mumps only to hide her relationship with the deputy. Kandelaki told reporters that a man suddenly jumped out onto the road in front of Karimov’s car. To avoid hitting him, the deputy turned the steering wheel sharply, and this caused the accident.

On December 5, 2006, the Belgian newspaper RTL, citing a representative of the Belgian Ministry of Defense, announced that Kerimov was transported to the Queen Astrid military hospital in Brussels. According to the publication, Kerimov was transported to Belgium at the request of Professor Jean-Louis Vincennes from the Erasme hospital, who even asked the Belgian Defense Minister Andre Flahaut to allocate “as an exception” a specially equipped aircraft and a team of Belgian military doctors to transport “one patient.” In addition, the professor promised that all costs associated with transportation “will be fully reimbursed by the patient or his relatives.”

On January 24, 2007, it became known that Kerimov returned to Moscow and began work. As a source close to the management of OJSC GNK (formerly Nafta-Moscow), which Kerimov owns, told the Interfax news agency, the businessman has “almost completely recovered after the accident” and “works on a daily basis and in full.”

On April 6, 2007, it became known that Kerimov wrote a statement about leaving the LDPR faction. As a representative of the State Duma Committee on Regulations stated, Kerimov did not justify his decision in any way. According to the Rules Committee, Kerimov did not write any additional statements about joining another Duma faction. On the same day, it became known that deputy Oleg Malyshkin, who ran for the presidency of Russia in 2004 from the LDPR, left the faction (and at the same time the LDPR party). The parliamentarian told reporters that he intends to continue to remain an independent deputy. Vice Speaker of the State Duma, leader of the Liberal Democrats, Vladimir Zhirinovsky, commenting on Kerimov’s departure, told reporters that the reason for his departure from the faction was a gross violation of party discipline. According to Zhirinovsky, the deputy did not take proper part in election campaigns in his region.

On April 12, 2007, the media reported that Kerimov wrote another statement - this time about joining the United Russia faction (its consideration was scheduled for April 17).

On April 19, 2007, the Russian version of Forbes magazine published a ranking of the richest citizens of Russia. The list of the hundred richest Russians was headed by Chukotka Governor Roman Abramovich, whose fortune by the spring of 2007 reached $19.2 billion. Kerimov took seventh place with $12.8 billion.

On May 11, 2007, it became known that the presidium of the United Russia faction decided to accept the deputy into the faction. Formally, the issue of accepting Kerimov should have been discussed at a meeting of subgroups of factions, but in fact the issue could already be considered resolved.

In December 2007, Kerimov was elected as a representative of the People's Assembly of Dagestan in the Federation Council. His candidacy was supported by all 56 deputies present at the meeting of the republican parliament. The speaker of the Dagestan parliament, Magomed Suleymanov, proposed electing Kerimov. According to him, Kerimov is a fairly well-known politician who “provides support to Dagestan, especially to the republic’s athletes.” On February 20, 2008, Kerimov became a senator: the Federation Council confirmed his powers as a representative of the People's Assembly of Dagestan.

In June 2008, the Kommersant newspaper reported that structures controlled by Kerimov sold large stakes in Gazprom and Sberbank that they owned. The share price at the beginning of the year was $15.37 and $5.4 billion, respectively. The newspaper also reported that Kerimov’s structures “sold or are negotiating the sale” of other Russian assets of the businessman - the company Metronom AG, the operator of the Mercado supermarket chain (sold to X5 Retail Group in the fall of 2007 for $200 million), National Telecommunications (the acquirer was the National Media Group, the main shareholder of which was Bank Rossiya of Yuri Kovalchuk) and shares in the Polymetal company (the founder of the ICT group Alexander Nesis, as well as Russian financier Alexander Mamut and structures of the Czech fund PPF were mentioned as acquirers). In addition, according to Kommersant’s sources, Kerimov was going to sell the elite village of Rublevo-Arkhangelskoye, which is under construction. After the sale of land, telecommunications, metallurgical and other assets, according to the publication, the businessman should have virtually no investments left in Russia. It was also reported that Kerimov would invest the funds freed up as a result of the sale of Russian assets in foreign financial institutions (according to the newspaper, at that time he had already acquired about 3 percent of the shares of Deutsche Bank, as well as securities of Morgan Stanley, Credit Suisse, UBS).

However, in February 2009, information about Kerimov’s acquisitions in Russia was published. It was reported that his Nafta-Moscow became the owner of 75 percent of Glavstroy SPb, a company that in St. Petersburg owns development projects of the Glavstroy corporation (the construction division of Deripaska's Basic Element). A source close to Kerimov’s company from the Kommersant newspaper, which reported on the purchase, confirmed that Nafta-Moscow was “interested in consolidating” all shares of Glavstroy SPb LLC, whose portfolio of projects was estimated at 6 million square meters of various real estate. In the same month, it became known that the Moscow government offered Nafta-Moscow a controlling stake in Dekmos OJSC, which was engaged in the construction of the Moscow Hotel. However, Nafta-Moscow gained partial control over Dekmos OJSC only in January 2010, when it acquired 50 percent of the shares of Konk Select Partners, a company that owned 51 percent of Dekmos OJSC shares. Subsequently, Kerimov continued to buy up Russian development companies. Thus, in April 2009, one of the country's largest developers - the PIK group of companies - officially admitted that Nafta-Moscow had received 25 percent of its shares and submitted a petition to the FAS to purchase another 20 percent of PIK. In May of the same year, a source from the Vedomosti newspaper reported that Nafta Co. Kerimova became a co-owner of the Moscow Voentorg, and several of its representatives joined the board of directors of CJSC Trading House TSVUM, which owns Voentorg. In August, the financial director of Nafta Co. confirmed the information that Nafta Co. owns almost 100 percent of CJSC Trading House TSVUM (Voentorg). He added that the deal was closed in the fall of 2008. Amount it was not named, but Vedomosti's source reported that the department store cost Kerimov's company approximately $300 million - with the condition that it would enter the project only after the reconstruction of Voentorg was completed.

In March 2009, Kommersant reported that the owner of the Interros holding, Vladimir Potanin, was selling 22 percent of the shares of Polyus Gold OJSC to Kerimov's structures. The amount of the transaction was not reported, but the newspaper provided data on the value of Polyus shares based on market quotes on the date of the transaction - 22 percent cost $1.42 billion. Analysts agreed that Kerimov acquired these assets “for a certain period of time for further resale.” In June, the leadership of the Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) announced that the purchase of a stake in Polyus Gold by Kerimov's company was approved by the government commission on foreign investment. In July 2009, when Polyus Gold revealed its ownership structure, it became known that Kerimov is the beneficiary of 36.88 percent of the company's shares: it was reported that he controls this stake through Wandle Holdings Limited. Despite the fact that 24.59 percent of the shares from this block were sold under a repo transaction (a type of loan, a transaction for the sale of securities with a mandatory subsequent repurchase of securities of the same issue in the same quantity after a certain period at a predetermined, higher price - editor's note), Kerimov retained the right to vote on it. It was not reported with whom the repurchase agreement was concluded and when the businessman has the right to return these shares.

In February 2010, Polyus Gold, which Kerimov actually owned together with Mikhail Prokhorov, acquired 11.4 percent of the shares of RBC Information Systems OJSC, the parent company of the RBC media holding. In April of the same year, Kerimov, having bought 19.71 percent of the shares, became one of the co-owners of the International Financial Club bank (IFC), part of the Onexim group owned by Prokhorov.

Suleiman Kerimov is the youngest child in the family. He has a brother, a doctor by profession, and a sister, a teacher of Russian language and literature. Kerimov's parents and other relatives live in Moscow. The entrepreneur's wife Firuza Kerimova is the daughter of a CPSU functionary; According to some reports, it was to his marriage with her that Kerimov owed much of his early career. According to various sources, Suleiman and Firuza have two or three children. Pop singer Natalya Vetlitskaya, who, according to some sources, has a daughter from him, was also mistakenly indicated as Kerimov’s wife. In 2008, it was reported that another passion of Kerimov, designer Katya Gomiashvili, was expecting a daughter from him.

Suleiman Kerimov is a Russian entrepreneur, co-owner of a number of large companies, shareholder of Uralkali, member of the Federation Council from Dagestan.

On January 30, 2018, Suleiman Kerimov, as a Russian oligarch with a fortune of more than a billion dollars, was included in the so-called “Kremlin list” compiled by the US Treasury at the request of a new law on countering opponents of this country .

Political activity

In December 1999, Suleiman Kerimov became a deputy of the Russian State Duma of the third convocation on the federal list of the Zhirinovsky Bloc electoral bloc, joining the Security Committee.

On December 7, 2003, Suleiman Kerimov was elected to the State Duma of the fourth convocation on the federal list of the LDPR electoral association. In the State Duma, he joined the LDPR faction and took the post of deputy chairman of the committee on physical culture and sports, and was also included in the security committee.

In April 2007, Suleiman Kerimov left the LDPR faction and became an independent deputy, and a week later he submitted an application to join the United Russia faction. On May 11, 2007, Kerimov became a member of the United Russia faction.

In December 2007, at the proposal of the speaker of the Dagestan parliament Magomed Suleymanov, Kerimov was unanimously elected as a representative of the People's Assembly of Dagestan in the Federation Council. In February 2008, the upper house of the Russian parliament confirmed his powers.

Business

In October 1998, Suleiman Kerimov, for $50 million, acquired 55% of its shares from the management of the investment company OJSC Nafta-Moscow - the heiress of Soyuznefteexport, an oil trading monopolist that exported 200 million tons of oil and petroleum products annually during Soviet times. The company was going through difficult times - after the August crisis of 1998, Nafta-Moskva's money was stuck in several collapsed banks, debts amounted to hundreds of millions of dollars, and management led by former Deputy Minister of Oil and Gas Industry Anatoly Kolotilin had to put Nafta-Moskva up for sale . Over the course of a year (according to other sources, one and a half years), Kerimov increased his stake in the company’s shares to 100%.

In June 2000, Nafta-Moscow bought the company Varyeganneftegaz, a subsidiary of SIDANCO, in respect of which bankruptcy proceedings were initiated.

At the end of 2003 and 2004, Nafta began buying land in the Moscow region on Novorizhskoye Highway. On these lands it was planned to build 2.7 million square meters of luxury housing and entertainment complexes. The cost of the project was estimated at $3 billion. The project was named: the private city "Rublevo-Arkhangelskoye". By 2006, it already occupied 430 hectares of land.

In July 2005, Kerimov, together with Deripaska and Abramovich, acquired a stake in the state oil company Rosneft (the company that at the end of 2004 bought the former subsidiary of the Yukos oil company, Yuganskneftegaz).

In 2005, the Nafta-Moscow company became one of the sponsors of the Russian Football Union and the general sponsor of the Russian national freestyle wrestling team. In November 2005, the President of the International Federation of United Styles of Wrestling (FILA) Rafael Martinetti presented Suleiman Kerimov with one of the most prestigious awards - the “Golden Order”.

At the end of 2005, Nafta bought the Polymetal company, which occupies a leading position in Russia in terms of silver production and second place in gold production, for $900 million.

On May 24, 2006, Suleiman Kerimov was elected chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Russian Wrestling Federation. According to the president of the federation, Mikheil Mamiashvili, the decision to establish the Board of Trustees and appoint its head was made because long-term interaction with state sports governing bodies and large national business structures has become crucial for the effective implementation of the tasks facing the federation.

In February 2006, Kerimov decided to turn Nafta-Moskva into a full-fledged investment company, turning it into a leading private equity fund.

On November 21, 2006, the Nafta-Moscow company and the Moscow government announced the creation of OJSC United Hotel Company (OGK), to which the shares of more than 20 hotels on the city’s balance sheet (including Balchug, Metropol) were to be transferred , "National" and "Radisson-Slavyanskaya"). The authorized capital of the new company was to be at least $2 billion: 49% was to belong to the city, 51% to Nafta-Moscow. However, at the end of January 2007, the Moscow government announced its intention to interrupt the joint hotel business with the Nafta-Moscow company. According to officials, the reason for terminating the contract with Kerimov was an accurate assessment of the shareholdings of municipal hotels, which established that the total value of the assets of all Moscow hotels (which were to be included in the OGK) amounted to almost $7 billion.

In the fall of 2007, Suleiman Kerimov unexpectedly began to sell off his Russian assets: the first company to be sold was Metronom AG (operator of the Mercado supermarket chain). In April 2008, it became known that Kerimov had agreed to sell National Telecommunications to the National Media Group. From January to May 2008, through the mediation of foreign banks Morgan Stanley and Credit Suisse, S. Kerimov sold large blocks of shares in Sberbank and Gazprom (according to unofficial information, in total the Nafta-Moscow company owned 6% of the shares of Sberbank and 4.5 % shares of Gazprom).

According to experts, Suleiman Kerimov's fortune in 2007 was $14.4 billion. According to the Forbes magazine rating, Kerimov took 35th place in the list of the richest people in the world.

In the second half of May 2008, Polymetal officially announced that Suleiman Kerimov was negotiating the sale of his stake in the company. In addition, Kerimov planned to sell the elite village Rublevo-Arkhangelskoye, which is under construction. The businessman invested the freed funds in foreign financial institutions - as of June 2008, he had already acquired about 3% of the shares of Deutsche Bank, as well as securities of Morgan Stanley, Credit Suisse, and UBS.

However, since February 2009, publications about Kerimov’s acquisitions in Russia have appeared in the media. It was reported that his Nafta-Moscow became the owner of 75% of Glavstroy SPb (the construction division of Deripaska’s Basic Element). In the same month, it became known that the Moscow government offered Nafta-Moskva a controlling stake in Dekmos OJSC, which was engaged in the construction of the Moscow Hotel.

In March 2009, Kommersant reported that the owner of the Interros holding, Vladimir Potanin, was selling 22% of the shares of Polyus Gold OJSC to Kerimov's structures. In June, the leadership of the Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) announced that the purchase of a stake in Polyus Gold by Kerimov's company had been approved by the government commission on foreign investment. In July 2009, when Polyus Gold revealed its ownership structure, it became known that Kerimov is the beneficiary of 36.88% of the company's shares: it was reported that he controls this stake through Wandle Holdings Limited.

In April 2009, one of the country's largest developers - the PIK group of companies - officially admitted that Nafta-Moscow had received 25% of its shares and submitted a petition to the FAS to purchase another 20% of PIK. And in August 2009, it became known that in 2008 the Nafta Co group of companies became the owner of almost 100% of CJSC Trading House TSVUM (Voentorg).

Shareholder of Uralkali

In June 2010, Kerimov became the owner of 25 percent of the shares of the world's sixth largest producer of potash fertilizers, Uralkali OJSC, whose main shareholder was Dmitry Rybolovlev. According to experts, he paid $2.5 billion for a blocking stake in the company.

September 2, 2013 Investigative Committee of Belarus put Suleiman Kerimov on the wanted list. Kerimov’s actions were qualified by the investigation as an organization of abuse of power and official authority (clause 4 of article 16 and part 3 of article 424 of the Criminal Code). According to the Investigative Committee of Belarus, a number of managers of the Belarusian Potash Company (a joint venture of Uralkali and Belaruskali) implemented a scheme that caused damage to the interests of Belarus in the amount of $100 million. Investigators suggest that some time before Uralkali broke off cooperation with Belaruskali, managers of the Belarusian Potash Company, secretly from the Belarusian side, provided buyers with discounts and broke lucrative contracts in order to then re-sign them with Uralkali.

On September 3, the Russian bureau of Interpol received information from the organization’s Central Office about the international wanted list for the senator from Dagestan Suleiman Kerimov.

Owner of Anji

In January 2011, at a meeting between Kerimov and the President of Dagestan Magomedsalam Magomedov was taken transfer decision under the control of the senator of the Dagestan football club "Anzhi" (Makhachkala), which enabled the club to acquire such famous players as Yuri Zhirkov (Chelsea London), Roberto Carlos (Corinthians Sao Paulo), Balazs Dzsudzsak, Eindhoven (PSV "Netherlands), Odil Akhmedov ("Pakhtakor" Uzbekistan), Mubarak Boussoufa ("Anderlecht" Belgium) and the main acquisition - the purchase in August 2011 from the Milanese "Internationale" of the Cameroonian super-forward Samuel Eto'o. In December 2016, Kerimov transferred FC Anji to the new owner Osman Kadiev.

VTB shareholder

In February 2011, Kerimov acquired about 1.5 percent of the shares of the state-owned VTB Bank for $500 million, becoming its largest private shareholder.

In March 2011, Kerimov took part in the elections to the People's Assembly of Dagestan as part of the United Russia list. On March 31, 2011, the new composition of the Dagestan parliament reaffirmed Kerimov as a senator.

In 2013, Suleiman Kerimov took 20th place in the ranking of the 200 richest businessmen in Russia according to Forbes. His fortune is estimated at $7.1 billion. Kerimov owns large blocks of shares in a number of Russian enterprises - Uralkali (18.1%), VTB (6%), Polyus Gold (40.2%), PIK (47%).

Lawsuits

On April 14, 2015, it was reported that the Nicosia District Court froze some of the assets of Suleiman Kerimov at the suit of entrepreneur Ashot Yeghiazaryan, who was seeking compensation for the costs of building a hotel in the center of Moscow. According to the decision of the London Court of International Arbitration (01/13/2015), Kerimov was ordered to pay Yeghiazaryan $250 million, but the first tranche was not paid in November 2014. The exact list of frozen assets is not known. One of the newspaper's sources claimed, citing a court decision, that the list, among other things, includes shares of Polyus Gold, as well as the Cinema Park cinema chain (formally its owner is the son of businessman Said Kerimov) and FC Anzhi.

Accident in France

On November 25, 2006, Suleiman Kerimov was in a car accident in France, in Nice. The Ferrari Enzo car (worth 675 thousand euros), in which Suleiman Kerimov, together with the TV presenter of the STS channel Tina Kandelaki, was driving along the embankment, crashed into a tree and caught fire. Kerimov was taken to the De la Timone specialized hospital in Marseille with severe burns. According to eyewitnesses of the accident, he managed to get out of the car himself and tried to knock out the flames from his clothes. Kandelaki suffered less damage - she was taken to the Saint-Roch hospital and was discharged the same day.

On January 24, 2007, after long-term treatment at the Queen Astrid military hospital in Brussels, Kerimov returned to Moscow and began work.

Arrest in France

In November 2017, Suleiman Kerimov was detained by French police in Nice on tax evasion charges. According to the police, Kerimov committed these actions through real estate fraud. The judge decided to launch an investigation against Suleiman Kerimov, as well as a bail of 5 million euros, according to which the senator was released. At the same time, the court decided that Kerimov must surrender his passport, cannot leave the Alpes-Maritimes department, and must also regularly report to the police.

According to French laws, tax evasion and money laundering can be punished with imprisonment for up to ten years, but, as practice shows, the case may not come to trial if the defendant compensates for the damage caused.

On November 28, 2017, Nice prosecutor Jean-Michel Prétre said that an appeal had been filed against Kerimov's release on bail, since the prosecutor's office considers it necessary for the Russian businessman to be in pre-trial detention.

On December 4, 2017, Nice prosecutor Jean-Michel Prétre accused Kerimov of importing between 500 million and 750 million euros into France for the purpose of money laundering.

Charity

In October 2009, Suleiman Kerimov financed a trip to Moscow for the Yakubov family from the Kizlyar region of Dagestan, on the body of whose nine-month-old son, Ali, in an unknown way lines from the Koran appear.

Kerimov is a regular at Moscow bohemian clubs. He enjoys hosting lavish social events, parties with pop stars, and sailing on his own yacht, Ice, off the coast of Spain (built at the Lürssen shipyard in Bremen, Germany; this four-deck vessel is 90 meters long). Suleiman Kerimov's personal aircraft is the Boeing Business Jet (BBJ) 737-700 - a luxuriously finished medium-haul passenger airliner with a non-stop flight range of up to 12,000 km (in the standard commercial configuration, the Boeing 737 carries more than 100 passengers, but in the BBJ modification it takes on board only 16 people , and on board there is an office, a shower room and a bedroom).

Marital status: wife Firuza is the daughter of a high-ranking Dagestan official. The family has three children - a son and two daughters.

Hajj according to Kerimov's program

Suleiman Kerimov is involved in charity work, donating large sums to social events, in particular to the Chamber of Commerce and Industry. In April 2007, Kerimov donated $100 million for the construction of the Cathedral Mosque in Moscow, and in May of the same year he allocated funds to send 5 thousand Russians to the Hajj.

Every year the number of pilgrims going on Hajj to Mecca from Dagestan through the charity of Senator Suleiman Kerimov ranges from 2.5 to 3 thousand people. Their exact number depends on the general hajj quotas allocated to the republic. The charity project is carried out by the Marva-Tour company.

Biography

Born on March 12, 1966 in the city of Derbent (according to other sources - in the village of Karakyure, Dokuzparinsky district) of the Dagestan Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic. By nationality - Lezgin. Father is a lawyer, worked in the criminal investigation department; mother is an accountant at Sberbank of Russia. In his youth, Suleiman Kerimov was fond of judo and kettlebell lifting, and was a repeated champion of various championships.

After graduating from high school in Derbent in 1983 (certificate with honors, favorite subject - mathematics), he entered the construction department of the Dagestan Polytechnic Institute. In 1984, after completing the first year of the institute, Suleiman Kerimov was drafted into the army and completed compulsory military service in the Strategic Missile Forces of the USSR Armed Forces (Strategic Missile Forces of the USSR Armed Forces), where he was a crew chief with the rank of senior sergeant. During his military service, Kerimov was the division champion in kettlebell lifting.

After being transferred to the reserve in 1986, Kerimov continued his studies at the Faculty of Economics of the Dagestan State University (DSU) named after. IN AND. Lenin, who graduated in 1989 with a degree in Accounting and Analysis of Economic Activities. In parallel with his studies, Kerimov served as deputy chairman of the trade union committee of the DSU.

In 1989-1995, Suleiman Kerimov worked in positions from economist to assistant general director for economic issues of the Eltav plant of the Ministry of Electronic Industry.

Since 1995, Suleiman Kerimov has been the general director of the investment company Soyuz-finance LLC (Moscow). This Moscow company worked in the domestic aviation business, raw materials industries and the banking sector. It was during this time (from 1995 to 1998) that Kerimov, according to media reports, earned his initial capital.

In April 1997, Kerimov became a researcher at the International Institute of Corporations (Moscow), and in February 1999 he was appointed vice president of this non-profit organization.

Notes

Officials and businessmen mentioned in the “Kremlin report”. Full list // RBC, 01/30/2018.
The Federation Council received 14 billion // Newspaper, 02.20.2008.
Suleiman Kerimov hands over packages // Kommersant, 06.16.2008.
Kerimov, Suleiman. Member of the Federation Council from the Republic of Dagestan, owner of the Nafta-Moscow company // Lenta.Ru.
Suleiman Kerimov handed over the Anzhi football club to the new owner // RBC, 12/29/2016.
Suleiman Kerimov is ready to testify in the Uralkali case // Forbes, 09/02/2013.
The Cyprus court froze some assets of Suleiman Kerimov // Interfax, 04/14/2015.
The car with Tina Kandelaki crashed into a tree // Rossiyskaya Gazeta, November 27, 2006.
Russian lawmaker Kerimov detained by French police in tax evasion case // Reuters, 11/21/2017.
Suleiman Kerimov was charged with French taxes // Kommersant, 11/23/2017.
The Nice prosecutor's office filed an appeal against Kerimov's release on bail // TASS, November 28, 2017.
Billionaire Kerimov allegedly brought up to €750 million “in suitcases” to France // Forbes, 12/04/2017.
Billionaire and MP. Biography of Suleiman Kerimov // RIA Novosti, 06/07/2008.

Member of the Federation Council from the Republic of Dagestan. In the past, he was a deputy of the State Duma of the Russian Federation of the fourth convocation, a member of the United Russia faction (until April 2007, a member of the LDPR faction). Owner of the Nafta-Moscow company. According to media reports, he is one of the richest people in Russia.

Returning from the army in 1986, Kerimov transferred to the Faculty of Economics of the Dagestan State University (DSU). During his studies, he was deputy chairman of the university trade union committee. In 1989, he graduated from high school with a diploma in “Accounting and Business Analysis” and went to work at the Eltav plant of the Ministry of Electronic Industry, one of the best enterprises in the defense industry. He worked at the plant until 1995, rising from an ordinary economist to assistant general director for economic issues.

In April 1997, Kerimov became a researcher at the International Institute of Corporations (Moscow), and in February 1999 he was appointed vice president of this non-profit organization.

It was in the 1990s that Kerimov, according to media reports, earned his initial capital. In October 1998, for $50 million, Kerimov acquired 55 percent of the shares of the investment company OJSC Nafta-Moscow (traded oil and petroleum products, was created on the basis of the Soyuznefteexport association) from its management, and within a year increased his stake in the company to 100 percent] and so became the owner of the company.

In November 2005, the International Federation of United Wrestling Styles (FILA) presented Kerimov with one of the most prestigious awards - the “Golden Order”. FILA President Rafael Martinetti expressed a desire to personally present the award to the deputy in order to “express gratitude and respect to the person who supports wrestling in Russia and around the world” (by 2005, Nafta-Moscow became the general sponsor of the Russian national freestyle wrestling team).

By 2006, Nafta, according to official data, owned more than 6 percent of the shares of Sberbank (about $1.6 billion at current prices) and more than 4 percent of the shares of Gazprom ($10.4 billion), cable television operators in Moscow and St. Petersburg - Mosteleset (Nafta owns 59 percent of the shares of the enterprise) and National Cable Networks, almost 20 percent of the shares of Bin-Bank, two percent of the shares of OJSC MGTS and 91 percent of the shares of the Krasnopresnensky Sugar Refinery Plant (in August 2006, shares of the plant, bought by Nafta from two rival companies were sold to the PIK group (according to media reports, Kerimov made money on resale.) In addition, the company owned 50 percent of the shares of the Mercado supermarket chain.

Soon after this, information appeared in the press that the Dynamo football club could be bought by Kerimov, since the owner of this club and the Fedcominvest company, Alexey Fedorychev, intended to completely abandon his sports business in Russia. This information was based on the fact that Kerimov had already tried to enter the football business more than once. In 2004, representatives of Nafta-Moscow negotiated the purchase of a controlling stake in the Italian Roma (the deal did not take place); a little later, Kerimov almost concluded an agreement with the government of the Moscow region to finance the Saturn football club (a deal worth 60 million dollars fell through at the last moment). In 2005, the Nafta-Moscow company became one of the sponsors of the Russian Football Union.

In the list of the richest people in the world compiled by Forbes magazine in 2006, Kerimov took 72nd place. His fortune, according to the magazine, reached $7.1 billion. In addition, according to media reports, back in August 2005, Kerimov became one of the 50 richest Russians who have their own aircraft - he purchased a BBJ airliner (a business version of the Boeing 737-700, worth approximately $50 million).

On April 12, 2007, the media reported that Kerimov wrote another statement - this time about joining the United Russia faction (its consideration was scheduled for April 17).

In March 2009, Kommersant reported that the owner of the Interros holding, Vladimir Potanin, was selling 22 percent of the shares of Polyus Gold OJSC to Kerimov's structures. The amount of the transaction was not reported, but the newspaper provided data on the value of Polyus shares based on market quotes on the date of the transaction - 22 percent cost $1.42 billion. Analysts agreed that Kerimov acquired these assets “for a certain period for further resale.” In June, the leadership of the Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) announced that the purchase of a stake in Polyus Gold by Kerimov's company was approved by the government commission on foreign investment. In July 2009, when Polyus Gold revealed its ownership structure, it became known that Kerimov is the beneficiary of 36.88 percent of the company's shares: it was reported that he controls this stake through Wandle Holdings Limited. Despite the fact that 24.59 percent of the shares from this block were sold under a repo transaction (a type of loan, a transaction for the sale of securities with a mandatory subsequent repurchase of securities of the same issue in the same quantity after a certain period at a predetermined, higher price - editor's note), Kerimov retained the right to vote on it. It was not reported with whom the repurchase agreement was concluded and when the businessman has the right to return these shares. In February 2010, Polyus Gold, which Kerimov actually owned together with Mikhail Prokhorov, acquired 11.4 percent of the shares of RBC Information Systems OJSC, the parent company of the RBC media holding.

Subsequently, Kerimov continued to buy up Russian development companies. Thus, in April 2009, one of the country's largest developers - the PIK group of companies - officially admitted that Nafta-Moscow had received 25 percent of its shares and submitted a petition to the FAS to purchase another 20 percent of PIK. In May of the same year, a source from the Vedomosti newspaper reported that Nafta Co. Kerimova became a co-owner of the Moscow Voentorg, and several of its representatives joined the board of directors of CJSC Trading House TSVUM, which owns Voentorg. In August, the financial director of Nafta Co. confirmed the information that Nafta Co. owns almost 100 percent of CJSC Trading House TSVUM (Voentorg). He added that the deal was closed in the fall of 2008. Amount it was not named, but Vedomosti's source reported that the department store cost Kerimov's company approximately $300 million - with the condition that it would enter the project only after the reconstruction of Voentorg was completed.

While billionaire Suleiman Kerimov is recovering in a private Belgian clinic, TV presenter Tina Kandelaki once again appeared in public. Her hands were still covered (according to rumors, they were burned during the accident with Kerimov in Nice), but the photographers managed to capture her fingers. White spots are clearly visible on them, very similar to barely healed burns.

Tina was far from the first TV personality with whom Suleiman Kerimov shared a vacation abroad. On the contrary, the young, charming and generous billionaire always loved social gatherings and especially valued communication with beautiful and talented women. He organized luxurious parties for friends and girlfriends, gave beautiful gifts to his chosen ones, organized dates in the best restaurants, helped girls make a successful career in show business... Cleo magazine prepared the most complete list of novels attributed to Kerimov.

Let us recall that on November 25, businessman Suleiman Kerimov, who ranks 72nd on the Forbes 2006 world list of billionaires with a fortune of $7.1 billion, was involved in a car accident on the Promenade des Anglais in Nice.

Kerimov’s first and most constant love was the daughter of a high-ranking official, Firuz. He met a pretty girl while studying in Derbent, Dagestan, and soon the lovers got married. His father-in-law helped Suleiman get a good job as an economist at the Eltav electronics plant, one of the largest enterprises in Dagestan. Kerimov’s wife has always been a real “eastern” wife. She does not appear in public; she is currently raising three children. At the same time, she is always ready to help her husband. She has great authority in the Moscow Dagestan diaspora (largely thanks to her wives and friends), and in Dagestan she is well known. How Firuza feels about rumors about her husband’s romantic interests is unknown; Kerimov’s wife does not want to communicate with the press.

And there were enough rumors. At one time, the singer Natalya Vetlitskaya was even mistakenly called Kerimov’s wife in the press, so openly tender and strong was the relationship of this couple. The beautiful romance with Natalya lasted for several years. On the singer’s 38th birthday, the businessman rented a 19th-century noble estate in the Moscow region. All Moscow bohemia came to the holiday - more than three hundred people. The group “Modern Talking” was invited especially for Vetlitskaya from Germany, and Toto Cutugno from Italy. “Modern Talking” asked for $5 thousand for the performance, Cutugno - $3.5 thousand. And the actual gift for Vetlitskaya was a gold pendant with diamonds, the cost of which was approximately $10 thousand.

It is no secret that Vetlitskaya’s musical career largely depended on her influential businessman friends. They say that it was Kerimov who played the main role in Vetlitskaya’s return to the world of show business, which the pop diva left after a quarrel with Dmitry Malikov and showman Pavel Vashchekin. According to rumors, Kerimov made very serious financial investments in the promotion of the singer. Thanks to his connections, Vetlitskaya’s videos were played on the night air of some channels for months.

Suleiman smoothed out the breakup with Natalya by giving the pop diva a plane as a good memory of herself. And yet, they say, Natalya was very worried about the breakup. Having met her former lover in a restaurant with her new passion, ballerina Anastasia Volochkova, Vetlitskaya angrily promised to make her rival disabled by hiring bandits.

Volochkova took the threat seriously and immediately received additional security from Kerimov. Their romance was stormy and difficult to hide. The ballerina canceled her concert scheduled for March 12 - Suleiman's birthday - in order to spend this day in the company of her friend. But Suleiman’s relationship with Anastasia turned out to be short-lived. They gossiped that the ballerina had hurt Suleiman. And that it was after their breakup that she started having problems in the theater.

One of Suleiman's last hobbies was Zhanna Friske. A month before the accident in Nice, Kerimov was seen with a popular singer in the Moscow restaurant “Aist”. All evening the businessman gently stroked Zhanna’s hand, and from time to time whispered something in her ear. They sat in the restaurant for about two hours; Friske ate only desserts from what she ordered.

Not so long ago, Kerimov was seen in the company of another beauty - young Katya Gomiashvili. The daughter of artist Archil Gomiashvili, who played Ostap Bender, is a fashion designer. As they said, the billionaire did not skimp on helping her “unwind.”

How can Kerimov take a girl for a ride?

The Ferrari Enzo in which the billionaire had an unfortunate accident did not belong to him. But Kerimov has a vehicle in which there is no shame in taking a beauty for a ride.

His four-deck yacht Ice is 90 meters long. (For comparison: the length of Roman Abramovich’s largest yacht Pelorus is 115 meters). The yacht is designed for 16 people. The sinks and all seven baths in the owner's and guest cabins are made from solid pieces of limestone, and the interiors are finished in oak. The owner's bedroom extends from one side of the yacht to the other. There is a swimming pool and a helipad on board. The cruising range is more than 11,000 km. According to some reports, the interior decor alone, including painting, cost $25 million, and the total cost of the yacht could be about $170 million.

As a personal airliner, Kerimov uses not an ordinary small business aircraft, but a Boeing Business Jet (BBJ) 737-700 - a luxuriously finished medium-haul passenger airliner. In a standard commercial configuration, the Boeing 737 carries more than 100 passengers, but in the BBJ modification it takes only 16 people on board, and the owner has an office, a shower room and a bedroom on board. The cost of such an aircraft with interior “stuffing” reaches $50 million, which is almost twice as expensive as the Bombardier Challenger, the most popular among Russian businessmen. The BBJ can fly to America: its non-stop flight range is up to 12,000 km.

Childhood

He was born on March 12, 1966 in Derbent, where Sulik (as his close friends called him) spent his childhood. His father, a lawyer by training, worked in the criminal investigation department, and his mother was an accountant in the Sberbank system. He has a brother, who now works as a doctor, and a sister, a teacher of Russian language and literature.

In his youth, he was fond of judo and kettlebell lifting, and was repeatedly a champion of various championships.

Education and military service

He studied very well, and his favorite subject at school was mathematics. In 1983, he graduated with honors from secondary school No. 18 and entered the Dagestan Polytechnic Institute at the Faculty of Construction.

After all, he was drafted into the army. The young man served in Moscow, in the strategic missile forces. In 1986, being a senior sergeant in the position of crew chief, he was demobilized.

Upon returning from service, he continued his studies, but at the economics department at DSU.

Labor activity

After completing his studies, in 1989 he got a job at the Eltav plant as an ordinary economist, where after five years of work he managed to get the position of assistant general director for economic issues. In 1993, the plant’s management and partners established a bank and registered it in Moscow. Suleiman was sent to represent their interests in the new Fedprombank. Soon the banker already had a controlling stake in the credit institution.

In 1995, Suleiman Abusaidovich was appointed to the post of head of the trade and financial company Soyuz-Finance.

In the spring of 1997, he became a fellow at the International Institute of Corporations, and two years later he headed this autonomous non-profit organization as president.

Business and investment projects

In 1999, a new stage in his life began - he bought shares in the Nafta-Moscow oil trading company and began to actively engage in investment and resale transactions. A year later, the company made its first purchase - Varyoganneftegaz.

In November 2005, it acquired 70% of one of the largest gold and silver miners in Russia, Polymetal. A couple of years later, Polymetal was listed on the London Stock Exchange, after which Nafta resold its stake in this holding.

At the same time, his company continued to develop successfully and, through profitable investments made by him during the first years of its leadership, already had a stake in Gazprom and Sberbank (by 2008 it amounted to 4.25% and 5.6%, respectively). However, by mid-2008, Suleiman Abusaidovich himself completely withdrew from the share capital of both structures.

In 2003-2008 Nafta developed the Rublevo-Arkhangelskoye project, also known in the press as the “city of millionaires.” In April 2006, she became a co-owner of Mosstroyekonombank, which owns Smolensky Passage, in June she gained control of the Razvitie SEC, which unites three construction companies, and in July she announced that she owns 17% of Mospromstroy. All packages were then also resold.

In 2007, the entrepreneur invested in Goldman Sachs, Deutsche Bank, Credit Suisse and other foreign financial institutions. At the same time, Forbes named him Morgan Stanley's largest private investor.

At the same time, he was engaged in completely different projects. Thus, in 2005, together with the capital’s mayor’s office, the joint telecommunications open joint-stock company Mosteleset was created - the only shareholder of Mostelecom. Two years later, these assets were merged into the National Telecommunications holding and a year later sold to a consortium of investors led by Yuri Kovalchuk’s National Media Group CJSC for $1.5 billion.

At the end of 2006, together with the government of the capital, it was announced the creation of the United Hotel Company, to which the shares of more than 20 hotels on the balance sheet of the city were transferred (including Balchug, Metropol, National and Radisson-Slavyanskaya ). It was assumed that Nafta would be one of the leaders in the Moscow hotel market.

Among the businessman’s other Russian assets at that time were the companies Metronom AG and the operator of the Mercado supermarket chain.

In February 2009, Nafta became the owner of 75% of Glavstroy SPb. In the spring of 2009, under the auspices of the entrepreneur, the reconstruction of the Moscow Hotel began, as a result of which the five-star Four Seasons Hotel with offices and apartments, as well as the Fashion Season shopping gallery, were opened there. In 2015, he first sold the gallery and then the hotel to Alexey Khotin.

In the second quarter of 2009, his structures bought 25% of PIK Group, the largest developer in Russia, whose financial position at that time was precarious. During the first couple of years of his leadership, the group regained financial stability and strengthened its position in the market. In the winter of 2013, the entire stake (which at that time was 38.3%) was sold to Sergei Gordeev and Alexander Mamut.

In the same 2009, Nafta-Moscow bought 37% of Polus Gold, the largest gold producer in the country, from Vladimir Potanin. Over time, this figure increased to 40.22%. In 2012, Polyus held an IPO on the London Stock Exchange (LSE), and at the end of 2015, the rights to 95% of the holding were transferred to it.

In April 2009, he bought 19.71% of the shares and became one of the owners of MFK Bank.

In June 2010, together with his partners, he acquired 53% of Uralkali (the size of the transaction was estimated at $5.3 billion). For this purchase, he had to take out a decent loan from VTB. In December 2013, he sold a stake in Uralkali to Mikhail Prokhorov (21.75%) and Dmitry Mazepin (19.99%).

In January 2011, Anzhi Makhachkala, part of the Russian football Premier League, came into his possession. In addition, near Makhachkala, a modern Anzhi Arena stadium with a functioning children's Football Academy was built at the billionaire's expense.

In 2013-2014 he sold off most of his resources, while his son, a young businessman Abusaid, bought Cinema Park, a large chain of cinemas, from V. Potanin (the deal was valued at $300 million).

Political activity

From 1999 to 2003, he was a deputy of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation of the third convocation, and was a member of its security committee. Then, until 2007, he was a deputy of the Duma of the 4th convocation, and also served as deputy chairman of the committee on physical culture, sports and youth affairs.

Since 2008, he has been a member of the Federation Council (FC), and since March 2011 he has represented Dagestan in the upper house of the Russian parliament.

At the end of September 2016, it became known that the oligarch was re-elected to the Federation Council. The decision was made at the People's Assembly, all 86 deputies from the republic voted in favor.

Charity and patronage

In November 2006, in Nice, he was in a car accident and received severe burns. After this, the entrepreneur donated 1 million euros to the Pinocchio charity, which helps children cope with burn injuries.

At the end of 2013, all assets of the enterprises he owned were transferred to the Suleyman Kerimov Foundation, which was founded by the billionaire in 2007. One of his most ambitious undertakings is the reconstruction of the Moscow Cathedral Mosque, the annual Hajj for several thousand Muslims, international youth and cultural festivals, and more.

In 2014, according to Forbes magazine, he was the third among the richest people in Russia who provided financial assistance to charity projects in 2013.

Among other things, he has headed the board of trustees since the founding of the Russian Wrestling Federation in 2006. For many years, his foundation was the main sponsor of this organization, financing, along with the New Perspective support fund, the national program for the development of freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling.

Awards

On March 10, 2016, he was awarded the honorary badge of the Dagestan Republic “For love of his native land.”

In turn, FILA awarded him its most prestigious award, the “Golden Order”.

According to the Forbes list, the businessman’s material well-being flourished in 2007-2008: at first he was the seventh richest person in the Russian Federation - his fortune was estimated at $12.8 billion. The following year, he took eighth place in the ranking, but his capital was estimated at $18.4 billion.

In 2016, it was in 45th place with $1.6 billion.

Hobbies

In addition to football and martial arts, he loves to surf the sea - for this he owns two yachts - Ice and Millenium, purchased in 2005-2006. One curious fact is connected with the four-deck, ninety-meter yacht Ice - for example, in 2012, its crew rescued nine people whose pleasure boat capsized. In the media, the owner of the ship was awarded another medal for this - “For saving drowning people.”

To travel by air, they use an equally luxurious vehicle - the Boeing Business Jet (BBJ) 737-700.

Personal life

He met his future wife, Firuza Nazimovna Khanbalaeva, at the university - they studied at the same faculty. The couple have three children. In 1990, a daughter, Gulnara, was born, and five years later, a son, Abusaid. The youngest daughter, Aminat, was born in 2003.

Had many high-profile novels. His scandalous personal life is constantly in the spotlight of the media. He was in a relationship with the star of the 1990s, singer Natalya Vetlitskaya. He openly appeared with the artist at social events. At one time they were even considered almost husband and wife. The businessman showered Natalya with expensive gifts and literally showered her with money. “He doesn’t spare anything for me. He gives money in bags,” Vetlitskaya boasted to her friends. After her affair with Kerimov, Vetlitskaya was left with a huge house in New Riga of 3,000 square meters. There were also rumors about an apartment in Paris and various expensive jewelry being given to her.

Then he had an affair with ballerina Anastasia Volochkova. There were rumors that Vetlitskaya almost threatened Volochkova because she stole her rich lover, allegedly Kerimov even hired Nastya security.

However, the romance with Volochkova quickly ended. Persons familiar with the situation explained this by the excessive greed of the ballerina, which pushed the businessman away from her. After breaking up with Kerimov, Volochkova began having problems in the theater. Nastya tried to return her rich lover, even publicly confessed her love to him, but to no avail.

Having abandoned the ballerina, Kerimov became interested in actress Olesya Sudzilovskaya. He was also credited with relationships with singer Zhanna Friske and TV presenter Ksenia Sobchak.

The businessman had an affair with TV presenter Tina Kandelaki. This became known after Kerimov got into an accident in his Ferrari Enzo on November 26, 2006 in Nice (France) - he crashed into a tree. The airbags softened the impact, but burning fuel splashed out of the fuel tank, causing a fire. The businessman, engulfed in flames, fell to the ground, trying to extinguish his flaming clothes. Teenagers playing baseball on the lawn came to his aid. This saved his life, although French doctors fought for it for a long time. He suffered severe burns and is now forced to wear flesh-colored gloves. Tina Kandelaki was also in the car with Kerimov. In memory of this incident, Tina received two tattoos. On the left wrist there is one of the Reiki symbols - chokurei (Japanese 超空霊 chōkurei), the meaning of which has several interpretations, one of which allows you to speed up the healing process of wounds. On the left thigh is a Chinese character that means “mother.” The tattoos are applied to burns received as a result of the accident.

For 4 years, he was in a relationship with designer Katya Gomiashvili (born 1978), the daughter of the famous actor Archil Gomiashvili (played Ostap Bender in Gaidai’s “12 Chairs”). At the time of her relationship with Kerimov, Ekaterina Gomiashvili opened a number of boutiques in Moscow and London. Top models Kate Moss and Devon Aoki took part in the advertising of Gomiashvili's clothing collections. After breaking up with Kerimov, Ekaterina retired and went to Bali, where she gave birth to a daughter. There were rumors that this could be Kerimov’s child, but officially the father is a certain Italian.

Criminal prosecution of Suleiman Kerimov in France

On November 20, 2017, Suleiman Kerimov was detained by French police at Nice airport on charges of tax evasion. Later it was clarified that Kerimov was also charged with money laundering - several tens of millions of euros. Four more alleged accomplices were detained along with him. He was ordered to surrender his passport as a Russian citizen to the French police and pay bail in the amount of 5 million euros to avoid detention. In addition, he is obliged to “refuse meetings and contacts with a list of persons that we cannot disclose,” the prosecutor indicated. This means that the billionaire senator will not be able to leave France. Earlier in March 2017, the newspaper Nice Matin reported about a search at the Hier villa in France, which allegedly belongs to Kerimov. The searches took place on February 15 in connection with an investigation into the acquisition of real estate in France. According to the publication, the senator owns real estate in Antibes, the total area of which is 90 thousand square meters. The area of the villa itself reaches 12 thousand square meters.

The billionaire's assistant then stated that Kerimov had no property outside Russia. According to him, the newspaper's information is unreliable. From January 2011 to December 2016, Suleiman Kerimov was the owner of the Anzhi football club (Makhachkala), which plays in the Russian football Premier League. Under him, the club acquired such famous players as Yuri Zhirkov (Chelsea London) and Roberto Carlos (Corinthians Sao Paulo), super forward Samuel Eto'o (Internazionale Milano). In 2013, as part of the development of a new long-term development strategy for the club, it was decided to reduce the club's annual budget to $50-70 million, compared to the previous budget of $180 million per season. Most of the expensive foreign stars were sold, and the club relied on young Russian players. In addition to financing Anzhi, Kerimov’s funds were used to build a modern football stadium, Anzhi-Arena, for 30 thousand spectators near Makhachkala, and to operate the Anzhi Children’s Football Academy.

Political activities of Suleiman Kerimov

In 1999-2003, Suleiman Kerimov was a deputy of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation of the 3rd convocation from the LDPR, and was a member of the State Duma Security Committee. In the period from 2003 to 2007, Kerimov was a deputy of the State Duma of the Russian Federation of the fourth convocation from the LDPR, and also served as deputy chairman of the Committee on Physical Culture, Sports and Youth Affairs. Since 2008, Kerimov became a member of the Federation Council of the Russian Federation, the upper house of the Federal Assembly, and represents the Republic of Dagestan. Throughout Kerimov’s tenure as a member of parliament and then as a senator, shares of enterprises owned by him, as well as other business assets, were in trust management, and since the end of 2013 they have been transferred to the Suleyman Kerimov Foundation. In September 2016, he was re-elected as a senator from Dagestan in the Federation Council. In this regard, he prematurely terminated his powers as a deputy in the People's Assembly of Dagestan.

Detention

Russian senator Suleiman Kerimov, detained in France, was charged with tax evasion and money laundering. He was given a bail of five million euros and banned from leaving the country.

The senator was also ordered to surrender his passport, come to the police station several times a week, and not have contact with certain people.

In accordance with French law, tax evasion and money laundering (blanchiment de fraude fiscale) are punishable by five years in prison and a fine of up to 500 thousand euros, in the presence of aggravating circumstances - up to ten years in prison and a fine of up to a million euros, as well as confiscation of property .

Kerimov's lawyer Nikita Sychev refused to comment on the court's decision.

"I'm tired. I haven't slept for two days. “I want to sleep,” said the lawyer. He also did not announce what measures would be taken in the future.

After this, the lawyer and the people accompanying him blocked the entrance to the public parking lot near the Nice Palace of Justice in front of journalists.

A few minutes later, two black cars left the parking lot within a few minutes of each other. The first passenger, sitting in the front seat, was covered with a jacket. However, Kerimov was in another car. He got into the back seat of a black Mercedes and drove away from the court without making any comments to reporters.

New arrests

In addition to Senator Kerimov, the French police detained four more people, the newspaper Le Figaro writes, citing its own source.

It is reported that we are talking about people who worked with the politician on real estate properties he owned in Nice.

The newspaper also writes that Kerimov is involved in a case of money laundering obtained through tax fraud committed by an organized group. We are talking about several tens of millions of euros.

Maximum active protection

The Federation Council will analyze the decision of the French court regarding Senator Suleiman Kerimov.