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Suleiman Kerimov - biography, information, personal life. Suleiman Kerimov: biography, activity in business and politics, net worth. What Suleiman Kerimov did

Suleiman Kerimov- represents one of the richest businessmen in the Russian Federation. Concurrently, he has the status of a member of the Federation Council, where he is represented from Dagestan. It owns 95% of the shares of the Polyus Gold company and owns the Anzhi football club.

early years

Suleiman Abusaidovich Kerimov was born on March 12, 1966 in the city of Derbent, which was part of the Dagestan Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic. He studied and graduated from school there. In addition, as a child he studied mathematics in depth and was fond of martial arts and sports - judo and kettlebells.

Considering his great love for mathematics, he enters the Dagestan Polytechnic Faculty of Civil Engineering. However, in 1984 he was drafted into the army - the missile forces - upon his return he returned to study, but with a transfer to the Faculty of Economics. In 1989, he completely graduated from the Faculty of Economics of DSU and began working at the Eltav plant.

Family

The family of Suleiman Kerimov, by Soviet and current standards, was not special: his father worked in the police, representing the criminal investigation department - he was a lawyer by training; mother worked as an accountant. Kerimov's brother works as a doctor, and his sister is a Russian language teacher.

Firuza Khanbalaeva is the wife of Suleiman Kerimov, the marriage between them was concluded in the 3rd year of university. There are three children: daughters Gulnara and Aminata, and a son Abusaid.

Career

The first job after graduation was the position of a planner at the Eltav plant in 1989. By 1994, Suleiman Kerimov managed to obtain the position of general. Director for Economic Affairs - such a “five-year plan” has proven him well as an employee. This influenced the fact that he began to represent Fedprombank in Moscow, which was registered in 1993. Then he acquired a significant share of the bank's shares, which gave rise to entrepreneurial activity.

In addition, in 1995, Kerimov became the head of the Soyuz-Finance company. By 1997 - researcher at the International Institute of Corporations.

Business

The first step into the business sphere was taken on the threshold of 2000, when Suleiman Kerimov bought a share of Nafta-Moscow. Then his entrepreneurial activity began in the resale of purchased assets. A full-fledged and first purchase is the company “Varyoganneftegaz”. Then 70% of Polymetal, which was engaged in gold and silver mining in the Russian Federation, was acquired. A few years later, Nafta-Moscow listed it on the London Stock Exchange, and then sold it completely.

By 2009, the Nafta company had 4.25% in Gazprom and 6% of shares in Sberbank. For five years, this company has been involved in the activities of the Rublevo-Arkhangelskoye project - a city for the rich people of the capital. The company became a co-owner of Mosstroyeconombank in 2006. As a result, she indirectly owned Smolensky Passage and received full control over the Razvitie SEC. Thus, by the end of the summer of 2006, ownership of 17% of Mospromstroy was announced, shares of which were subsequently sold, as was the entire share of Suleiman Kerimov in Nafta-Moscow, but in 2009 it was decided to liquidate the organization.

From 2007 to 2008, he was actively involved in investments in foreign companies: Goldman Sachs, Deutsche Bank, etc. - Forbes named him the only large private investor in Morgan Stanley. The reason for such investments was the economic crisis, but this did not help much due to margin trading and, according to economists, Kerimov lost about 20 billion US dollars.

In addition to investments and resale, there were other activities - in 2005, Suleiman Kerimov founded Mosteleset OJSC together with the Moscow City Hall. In fact, it was the sole shareholder of Mostelecom, which subsequently led to their merger into a single holding, National Telecommunications. A few years later, the entire holding was purchased by National Media Group CJSC - the transaction amount is estimated at $1.5 billion.

This cooperation with the Moscow authorities was not isolated, and by 2006 both parties announced that they intended to create a “United Hotel Company” - as a result, it included shares in about 20 of the best hotels in the capital. Nafta could also become one of the leaders in the hotel business, but in 2009 it acquired a 75% stake in Glavstroy SPb. Kerimov, in 2009, also began the reconstruction of the famous Moscow Hotel, the building for which later became the site of the Four Seasons Hotel and the Fashion Season shopping gallery.

Suleiman Kerimov's yacht “Ice”

After the liquidation of Nafta-Moscow in 2009, the entrepreneur bought out 25% of the PIK Group of Companies, whose position was unstable, but at the same time it was the largest developer in the Russian Federation. And, as usual, in 2-3 years the company restored its financial position, paid off all debts and was sold - the size of the package was about 38% - to S. Gordeev and A. Mamut.

About 37% of Polus Gold was purchased from V. Potanin in 2009 before liquidation. By 2012, the share volume was increased to 40%. In addition, there was also a participation on the London Stock Exchange, as a result of which in 2015, Kerimov was transferred ownership of 95% of the entire holding.

2009 ended with the purchase of about 20% of the shares of MFK Bank and the entry into its composition.

In 2010, Uralkali was purchased in the amount of 53% of the total share. By the end of the same year, it was sold to M. Prokhorov in the amount of 22% and D. Mazepin in the amount of 20%.

In 2011, FC Anzhi was purchased and a stadium was built in Makhachkala under the name Anzhi Arena, which operates a children's football academy. By 2014, Kerimov decided to sell most of his assets.

Activities in politics

Suleiman Kerimov was a deputy of the State Duma of the Federal Convocation of the Russian Federation from 1999 to 2003, and then was a member of the Security Committee. In addition, until 2007 he was a member of the State Duma of the 4th convocation. He also holds the post of Chairman of the Physics Committee. culture and youth affairs.

In 2008 he became a member of the Federation Council, and since 2011 he has represented Dagestan in the Federation Council.

He also founded the Suleyman Kerimov Foundation. Its main activities are aimed at supporting youth, as well as the development of youth and sports.

Kerimov's financial condition

If we take into account the statistics of Forbes magazine, 2007 and 2008 became the most profitable years in the life of Suleiman Kerimov: he was able to rise in the ranking in terms of wealth from $12.8 billion to $18.4 billion.

However, after that, Suleiman Kerimov’s fortune did not grow so profitably, although it remained quite large. Since 2011, it has fluctuated from $7.8 billion to $1.6 billion in 2016 - while ranking 45th in Forbes. According to the latest data - for 2017 - the total capital is about 6.3 billion dollars.

  • Suleiman Kerimov is the initiator of the idea of ​​​​building a small town near Moscow for rich people, referred to as the “city of millionaires.” The project was designed for about 30,000 people, but was later sold to Mikhail Shishkhanov.
  • A 2006 car accident in Nice caused burns on ¾ of Kerimov’s body. He spent several days in an induced coma and is now forced to wear flesh-colored gloves to hide his burns.
  • Since 2007, Suleymanov Kerimov has been conducting charitable activities for Muslims. He helps them perform the Hajj, paying for thousands of believers to travel to the holy places of Arabia - its price is about 100,000 rubles per person.
  • We own two yachts - Ice and Millenium. Thus, in 2012, the crew of the yacht Ice rescued 9 drowning people whose boat capsized. Thanks to this, the captain and owner of the ship received medals “For saving drowning people.”
  • Since 2018, it has been a member - organized by the USA. It includes all people who are in one way or another close to V.V. Putin.

Suleiman Abusaidovich Kerimov is a Russian businessman and politician, a member of the Federation Council from the Republic of Dagestan, one of the richest people in Russia.

Suleiman Kerimov is one of the richest citizens of Russia. According to Forbes for 2017, he ranks 21st in the country in terms of wealth, and 226th in the world. He owns the largest companies in oil production - Nafta Moscow - and gold production - Polyus Gold. Founder of the Suleyman Kerimov Foundation for the support of youth, development of medicine, culture and sports.

Kerimov was born on the western shore of the Caspian Sea in Derbent, Lezgin by nationality. The parents of the future businessman were ordinary Soviet people: his father was a criminal investigation lawyer and his mother was an accountant at Sberbank. Suleiman had an older brother and sister, by profession a doctor and a teacher of the Russian language, respectively.

Childhood

As a child, Kerimov studied well and loved sports. He was considered the best student in his school. Suleiman showed particular interest in mathematics, which he studied in depth. He graduated from school with a gold medal and entered the Dagestan Polytechnic University at the Faculty of Construction. Suleiman managed to complete one course, and then received a summons to the army and went to serve in the missile forces. Having been demobilized, Kerimov was reinstated at the university, but not at the Faculty of Civil Engineering, but at the Faculty of Economics.


In the photo, young Suleiman Kerimov

In 1989 he graduated from the Dagestan Polytechnic and began working as an economist at a plant. "Eltav" was at that time the best defense enterprise of the Union. Over the course of five years of work, Kerimov rose through the ranks to General Director for Economic Affairs.

Business

In 1993, Eltav sent Kerimov to Moscow to manage Fedprombank, which was created for the convenience of settlements between the plant and clients. While working at the bank, Suleiman provided loans to several large companies that found themselves in crisis and made a number of useful contacts.

Kerimov’s own business has taken off since 1999. His first asset - a controlling stake in Nafta Moscow - became 100 percent within a year. And to this day, the businessman continues to single-handedly manage this holding.

Since the early 2000s, Kerimov begins to participate in politics. He becomes a State Duma deputy from the LDPR faction. In 2007, the entrepreneur left the party without explaining the reasons, and continues his political career with United Russia. From the party in power, Kerimov enters the Federation Council as a representative of his home region - the Republic of Dagestan. Suleiman served in the upper house of parliament for two convocations.

Nafta Moscow, meanwhile, was buying up the assets of large enterprises with subsequent profitable resale. During this period, Kerimov began cooperation with major Russian businessmen and. Subsequently, Kerimov entered into several successful deals with them.

Also in the early 00s, a businessman bought land in the Moscow region to build luxury housing. The project was called “Rublevo-Arkhangelskoye”. But in 2006, Suleiman parted with him, selling him to Mikhail Shishkhanov.

Kerimov continued to accumulate assets: he acquired part of the shares of Gazprom and Sberbank, a sugar factory and television networks in Moscow and St. Petersburg.
In 2008, the businessman entered the international market: he bought shares in Volvo, Boeing, Barclays, Deutsche Bank and several other large Western companies. However, this did not bring success. An economic crisis soon began, which robbed Suleiman of at least $20 billion held abroad. The business was in danger, but with the help of new projects, Kerimov managed to “get back into the game.”
In 2009, he bought a 37% stake in Polyus Gold, the largest Russian gold miner (renamed simply Polyus in 2016). By the end of 2015, Kerimov included his children on the board of directors of Polyus and now has a consolidated stake of 95%.

Now Suleiman Kerimov remains the owner of Nafta, whose assets, in addition to Polyus, also include shares in Rostelecom and the PIK group of construction companies.

In recent years, one of Kerimov’s largest investments was a $200 million investment in the Snapchat messenger. The messenger, which began to grow immediately after the public offering of shares, then sharply lost ground, and its investors were losers, including Kerimov.

Personal life

Suleiman Kerimov is married to a fellow student, the daughter of a nomenklatura official named Firuza. She gave birth to three children to the businessman. Firuza never appears in public with her husband. Suleiman attends social events with other women. According to rumors, Kerimov had affairs with, and. According to unofficial sources, Kerimov is a generous suitor; he showers his chosen ones with diamonds and presents other expensive gifts, including a personal plane.

Hobbies

Kerimov is a big sports fan. From 2011 to 2016, he owned the Anzhi football club, which became one of the most famous clubs in Russia thanks to the financing of the oligarch. After his arrival, the team acquired world-famous stars Samuel Eto'o and Robert Carlos. Later, Anzhi, which before Kerimov’s arrival usually finished the championships at the bottom of the standings, was joined by several more Russian stars, such as Yuri Zhirkov, Igor Denisov and others. According to them, the transfers were determined by interest in playing for this particular Dagestan team, and not by large salaries.
The businessman also invested in culture - with his $170 million, the largest mosque in Europe was built - the Moscow Cathedral.

Road accident with Kandelaki?

In 2006, Kerimov was involved in a serious car accident in Nice, which caused widespread public outcry. Firstly, the businessman himself, while driving a Ferrari, lost control on the track and was seriously injured. Three quarters of his body was covered in burns. Kerimov underwent rehabilitation at a burn center in Marseille, and later at a military hospital in Brussels.

The public was actively interested in the passenger of this car, as there was a rumor that TV presenter Tina Kandelaki was with Kerimov. She herself denied this information.
Having recovered, Kerimov decided to engage in charity work. He donated a million euros to the Pinocchio organization, which helps children affected by the fire.

Arrest

In November 2017, Suleiman Kerimov was detained in France. The prosecutor's office accused the businessman of non-payment of taxes when purchasing real estate on the Cote d'Azur and of illegally transporting cash across the border. According to the prosecution, he took from Russia to France from 500 to 750 million euros.

Russian politicians stood up for Kerimov (he is still a member of the Federation Council). The press secretary of the Russian president, on behalf of the Kremlin, promised that the state would protect the rights of its senator. French prosecutors responded that the businessman did not have diplomatic documents at the time of his arrest.

Suleiman Kerimov spent under house arrest virtually until the summer of 2018, spending most of the time in France, periodically asking for leave for several days in Russia for personal and family reasons. Only in June 2018 was Kerimov completely acquitted.

Upon returning to Russia, Suleiman Kerimov again began his duties as a parliamentarian. He is also actively involved in charitable activities and spends a lot of time on working trips around the Republic of Dagestan.

Activities today

The senator’s main concerns today, like many years before, are related to the development of Dagestan. Suleiman Kerimov helps build schools and mosques, provides support to pilgrims who annually make the Hajj to Mecca, and his son’s company is developing the Makhachkala International Airport.

In the summer of 2018, the authorities of Derbent, where the senator is from, announced the creation of a tourism cluster centered in this oldest city in Russia. Kerimov will take a direct part in the development of tourism in the region, including by transferring 1.5 billion rubles to the budget of Derbent. Additional funds will be used for infrastructure development - construction of hotel complexes, construction and repair of roads, etc.

State

In the past few years, according to Forbes, Kerimov's fortune has fluctuated from $7.8 billion in 2011 (maximum) to $1.6 billion in 2016 (minimum).
At the end of 2017, the oligarch’s fortune was estimated by the publication at $6.3 billion.

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Suleiman Abusaidovich Kerimov is a famous Russian businessman, member of the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation from Dagestan, owner of the Russian football club Anzhi.

Early years. Family

Suleiman Kerimov was born in Derbent, a Dagestan city with a long history, located on the Caspian coast. He became the third and youngest child in the family.

His father, Abusaid Kerimovich, was a lawyer, served in the Dagestan criminal investigation department, and his mother worked as an accountant at Sberkass. Suleiman graduated from a regular Soviet school, like his older brother and sister. According to teachers and classmates, Kerimov loved mathematics and, unlike many schoolchildren, not only studied well, but also devoted a lot of time and effort to sports. Suleiman developed reaction speed, agility and speed in judo training, and strength and endurance in training with weights. Moreover, these were not momentary hobbies - later, at the institute, Kerimov became a candidate of masters in judo, and in the army he won the division championship in kettlebell lifting.


Kerimov graduated from school in 1983, receiving a certificate with honors. Success in the exact sciences helped him successfully pass exams at the Dagestan Polytechnic Institute and enter the Faculty of Construction. In those years, full-time students did not have a deferment from the army, so in 1984 Suleiman went to serve in the Strategic Missile Forces. Kerimov's determination and responsibility were repeatedly noted by commanders, and he successfully completed his service in 1986 with the rank of senior sergeant.

Upon returning from military service, Suleiman transferred from the Polytechnic University to the Dagestan State University, changing the faculty of construction to economics. Classmates spoke of him as an intelligent, charming and responsible person. Kerimov also developed his responsibility and ability to find a common language in his social work, in particular, as deputy chairman of the university trade union committee.

Career and first capital

After graduating from university, Suleiman Kerimov was hired as an economist at the Eltav plant in Makhachkala, one of the largest in Dagestan. For six years, Kerimov’s career went uphill: from an ordinary economist, he worked his way up to assistant general director.


After the collapse of the USSR, the Eltav plant became one of the co-founders of the Federal Industrial Bank. The bank was necessary for the interaction of production with related enterprises and consumers who were located in different countries. Kerimov began to represent the interests of the plant in the bank, eventually moving to the capital permanently.

That time, as well as the people who earned their first capital back then, can be assessed in different ways. But regardless of personal preferences and political beliefs, everyone who knew Suleiman Kerimov at that time noted his attention to detail, lightning-fast reaction and ability to make non-trivial decisions.

Nafta Moscow

By 1999, Kerimov acquired and increased his stake in Nafta Moscow, a Russian oil trader, to 100%. From that moment on, the process of reorganizing the company into a full-fledged investment holding began.

According to some counterparties, Suleiman Abusaidovich conducted his business quite harshly. But in business, as in politics, players are judged by a single criterion: results. And Kerimov had no problems with this. In a short period of time, his company Nafta Moscow broke into the top three leaders of the mergers and acquisitions market, taking pride of place on a par with Oleg Deripaska’s Rusal and Roman Abramovich’s Millhouse, with whom he later began to cooperate. Such proximity shows an undeniable result, and only profitability indicators can be more objective. Kerimov is also doing well with them - for some transactions the figures reached 600%.


Kerimov understood that huge amounts of money could be earned in the oil and gas industry. During the period from 2002 to 2008, the interests of Nafta Moscow concerned the acquisition of shares of various domestic enterprises. Representatives and managers of these companies spoke of Kerimov as a tenacious person who always achieves his goal. At the same time, many noted his oriental charm and the pronounced charisma of a born leader.

Since 2006, the interests of Suleiman Kerimov’s structures have been reoriented to Western markets and work with foreign securities. By analogy with the financial participation of Sberbank and VTB in domestic projects, Deutsche Bank, Morgan Stanley and Credit Suisse were involved in cooperation abroad. At that time, starting to purchase shares of Western companies (including British Petroleum, Volvo, etc.), Kerimov personally met the directors of leading investment banks and major companies, in particular, the founder of Microsoft Bill Gates.


The global economic crisis of 2008, according to various experts, cost Kerimov $20 billion. Some attribute this to faulty planning, others to excessive excitement. But regardless of the attitude towards what happened, everyone agrees that the huge losses did not unsettle Kerimov, in full accordance with Nietzsche’s postulate - “what does not kill us makes us stronger.”

Kerimov’s portfolio included shares of a variety of companies at different times, from monopolists such as Gazprom, Sberbank, Rosneft and Uralkali, to lesser-known ones, such as Varyeganneftegaz, Polymetal, Mostelecom, Mercado and others.

Polyus Gold

Kerimov acquired shares in Polyus Gold, the largest gold producer in Russia, in 2009. By 2012, the company entered an IPO on the London Stock Exchange (LSE), and in 2015, Kerimov’s structures consolidated the rights to 95% of the company’s shares by purchasing shares from minority shareholders. In April 2016, Kerimov introduced his two eldest children to the board of the Polyus Gold company.


Kerimov's role in Charity

In 2013, the businessman transferred all his assets to the management of the Suleyman Kerimov Foundation, a charitable foundation he founded, which interacted very closely with the largest Russian and international charitable organizations.


The Foundation has existed since 2007 and implements humanitarian, educational and cultural projects not only in Russia, but also in many other countries - Armenia, Belgium, China, Germany, Greece, Israel. The most impressive sums are invested in Dagestan.

Since 2006, Suleiman Kerimov has been promoting the development of freestyle wrestling in Russia. His charitable foundation, together with the Russian Wrestling Federation and the New Perspective Sports Support Fund, finances the national program for the development of freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling “Fight and Win.”


He has been the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Russian Wrestling Federation since its founding in 2006. He is also a member of the Board of Trustees of the Sirius educational center for gifted children in Sochi.

Policy

Since 2008, Kerimov has represented the Republic of Dagestan in the Federation Council of the Russian Federation in the upper house of Parliament. Represents the legislative body of state power of the Republic of Dagestan in the Federation Council. Since September 2016, the businessman was re-elected as a senator of the Federation Council from the Republic of Dagestan.


Before being elected as a representative to the Federation Council, he was a deputy of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation of the 4th convocation, deputy chairman of the State Duma Committee on Physical Culture, Sports and Youth Affairs.

Personal life

Suleiman Kerimov has been married since his student years and has three children: the eldest daughter Gulnara (1990), the middle son Abusaid (1995) and the youngest daughter Aminat (2003).

Suleiman Kerimov now

In 2016, the business publication Forbes estimated Suleiman Kerimov's fortune at $1.6 billion. The entrepreneur is one of the richest businessmen in the Russian Federation.

Suleiman Abusaidovich Kerimov (March 12, 1966, Derbent, Dagestan) is a Russian entrepreneur, member of the Federation Council from Dagestan.

Childhood, youth

Suleiman Kerimov is a Lezgin. His father worked in the criminal investigation department, and his mother was an accountant. In his youth, he practiced judo and kettlebell lifting. At the same time, his favorite school subject was mathematics. He graduated from secondary school No. 19 in Derbent with honors.

In 1983, Suleiman entered the construction department of the Dagestan Polytechnic Institute. It was only after his first year that he was drafted into the army. During 1984-1986. served in the missile forces. He continued his studies at the Faculty of Economics, which he graduated in 1989. While studying at DSU, he was deputy chairman of the university trade union committee.

How did Suleiman Kerimov achieve financial success?

Financial analysts note that Kerimov's fortune is based on investments in assets that have significant growth potential. Suleiman Kerimov often sets himself the goal of capitalizing an asset in order to resell it profitably in the future.

But economic observer Yulia Latynina believes that the secret of Kerimov’s success is due to the fact that the companies he buys easily resolve problems with the state. Now let's look at the chronology of his success.

1989-1995 – Kerimov works at the Eltav plant. During this period, from a simple economist he turns into an assistant to the general director and settles in Moscow.

1995 - Kerimov becomes deputy general director of Soyuz-Finance.

1997 - became a research fellow at the International Institute of Corporations. Two years later, he took the position of vice president in this organization. True, he was soon fired because he became a State Duma deputy (2000-2003).

2003-2008 – was the owner of the large-scale Rublevo-Arkhangelskoye project.

2006-2008 – owned shares:

  • Gazprom;
  • MGTS;
  • Polyus Gold;
  • Sberbank;
  • "Polymetal";
  • "National Telecommunications";
  • Mosstroyeconombank;
  • shopping complex "Smolensky Passage".

By 2008, Kerimov withdrew the bulk of his capital from Russia and invested it in shares of foreign corporations.

2010 – owned 25% of Uralkali shares.

2011 - became a co-owner of Rostelecom. In his income statement, he stated that he owns shares in the Nafta-Moscow company, Altitude, a company registered in Bermuda, and Aniketa Investments Limited.

2013 – Suleiman Kerimov’s fortune is $7.1 billion.

Personal life

While studying at the university, Suleiman married his classmate Firuza. The father of his future wife was a major party functionary and helped his son-in-law get a job at the Eltav plant. Now the couple have three children: daughter Gulnara (1990), son Abusaid (1995) and daughter Aminata (2003).

Kerimov came up with the idea of ​​​​building a “city of millionaires” near Moscow, where 30 thousand wealthy residents of Russia would live. True, he sold this project to Mikhail Shishkhanov.

In 2006, in Nice, Kerimov was involved in a car accident: the car he was driving ran off the road for an unknown reason. As a result, Suleiman was in a state of artificial coma for some time.

Suleiman Kerimov is known for his active charitable activities. In particular, his charitable foundation funds many special programs. Among them we can highlight the national program for the development of Greco-Roman and freestyle wrestling.

Since 2007, Kerimov has been helping several thousand Muslims perform the Hajj every year. It is worth noting that the cost of a trip for one person to the holy places of Arabia is 85-100 thousand rubles.

In 2011, Suleiman acquired the Anzhi football club (Makhachkala).

Currently he is a 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. Owns the Nafta-Moscow company.

In 2000, Nafta-Moscow acquired the company Varyeganneftegaz, and in 2001 Kerimov acquired a stake in the business of Andrei Andreev, which consisted of several companies at once: Ingosstrakh-Russia (currently Rossiya), Avtobank (in 2006 year, which became part of the Uralsib corporation), Ingosstrakh-Soyuz (currently Soyuz), Ingosstrakh, Nosta and many others. At the same time, Kerimov’s company, which was once one of the largest oil traders in Russia, gradually moved away from its core activities, practically ceasing to be involved in oil trading in 2002.

On December 7, 2003, Kerimov was once again elected to the State Duma, coming to the Duma of the fourth convocation on the federal list from the Liberal Democratic Party. Kerimov was included in the Security Committee and was also appointed Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Physical Culture and Sports.

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In 2003-2004, Nafta began purchasing land in the Moscow region on Novorizhskoye Highway. It was planned to build 2.7 million square meters of entertainment complexes and luxury housing on this territory. The project was called “Private city of Rublevo-Arkhangelskoye” and cost about 3 billion dollars. In 2006, it already occupied more than 430 hectares of land.

In 2005, Kerimov received the Golden Order award from the International Federation of United Wrestling Styles. Rafael Martinetti, the president of this company, wished to personally present the award to the deputy in order to “express gratitude and respect to the person who supports the struggle in Russia and throughout the world” (in 2005, Kerimov’s company “Nafta-Moscow” became the general sponsor of the Russian national freestyle team fight).

In 2005, Kerimov acquired the second largest Russian gold mining company, Politmetal, for about $900 million. In the future, it was planned to place about 25% of the company's shares on the stock exchange. In 2006, the businessman decides to turn Nafta-Moscow into a full-fledged investment company, which becomes the leading private equity fund.

According to official data, in 2006 Nafta owned 6 percent of Sberbank shares (that is, about $1.5 billion at current prices) and 4 percent of Gazprom shares ($10.4 billion). In addition, Nafta owned cable television operators in St. Petersburg and Moscow Mosteleset and National Cable Networks, about 20 percent of the shares of Bin Bank, 91 percent of the shares of the Krasnopresnensky Sugar Refinery Plant, 2 percent of the shares of OJSC MGTS, 50 percent of the shares of the supermarket chain "Mercado".

During this period, resale transactions became a kind of “strong hobby” of Kerimov. In 2006, Nafta became a co-owner of Mosstroyekonombank, gained control over the Razvitie SEC, and also received a 17% stake in the Mospromstroy holding. However, Nafta does not retain any of the above acquisitions: the Bean group bought out Mosstroyekonombank and Mospromstroy, and Razvitie transferred to Deripaska’s Basic Element.

In 2006, Kerimov became the head of the Board of Trustees of the Russian Wrestling Federation. Long-term interaction with large national business structures and government sports authorities has become crucial.

Very soon after this, information appeared in the media that Kerimov would most likely acquire the Dynamo football club, since the owner of this club, Alexey Fedorychev, wanted to give up running a sports business in Russia. The basis for this assumption was Kerimov’s repeated desire to start a football business.

In 2004, representatives of the Nafta-Moscow company conducted negotiations regarding the purchase of a controlling stake in the Italian Roma, but the deal did not take place. A little later, an agreement was practically concluded between Kerimov and the government of the Moscow region on financing the Saturn football club (the deal fell through at the very last moment). In 2005, Nafta-Moscow became one of the sponsors of the Russian Football Union.

In July, Kerimov, together with Abramovich and Deripaska, acquired a stake in Rosneft, and in August 2006, information appeared in the media about Nafta-Moskva’s intention to buy out the debts of the Yukos Oil Company (on August 1, the Moscow Arbitration Court declared the company bankrupt, so any an investor who wanted to pay her debts effectively gained control of her assets). There were rumors that Kerimov was negotiating with YUKOS President Stephen Theede about implementing such an idea, but the Nafta press service officially denied such reports.

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In November 2006, information appeared about Kerimov’s desire to start a separate business in Moscow. On November 21, 2006, the Moscow government and Nafta announced the creation of OJSC United Hotel Company, whose authorized capital was $2 billion. Shares of more than 20 hotels on the city’s balance sheet (Metropol, Balchug, Radisson-Slavyanskaya, National) were transferred here.

On November 25, 2006, in Nice, Kerimov was involved in a car accident. As the Nice Matin newspaper reported, Kerimov's car, in which he was traveling with Tina Kandelaki, crashed into a tree and caught fire. The deputy was taken to the Hospital de la Timone in Marseille with serious burns. As eyewitnesses of the incident said, Kerimov was able to get out of the car on his own. His companion suffered less: after undergoing all the necessary examinations at the Saint-Roch hospital, she was discharged as soon as possible.

Scandal with Kerimov:

Sources from Kerimov’s circle made an official statement that the businessman’s life was not in danger. However, an employee in the management of the hospital de la Timone told about a slightly different state of affairs. The deputy, according to him, is in a coma and connected to a ventilator. He also added that the businessman is “stable and under medical supervision.” In addition, it became known that Kerimov, along with numerous burns, received a traumatic brain injury.

According to the initial opinion of the investigation, Kerimov, who was driving the car, lost control. This version was based on the fact that the speed limit on the embankment was only 70 kilometers per hour. Due to an attempt to overtake, Kerimov's car (Ferrari Enzo, worth 675 thousand euros) collided with the sidewalk, after which the car was thrown into a tree, and the fatal blow fell on the gas tank (as a result of which a fire started).

For some time, Tina Kandelaki in every possible way denied her participation in the accident, insisting that she was at home at that time due to illness. But soon the TV presenter admitted that she was with the businessman in his car at the time of the accident. She talked about her illness only because she wanted to hide the fact of her relationship with the deputy. According to Kandelaki, a man suddenly jumped out onto the road in front of the car. Kerimov sharply turned the steering wheel, which was the cause of the accident.

On December 5, 2006, the Belgian newspaper RTL, citing a representative of the Belgian Ministry of Defense, published information that Kerimov was transported to the Queen Astrid Military Hospital in Brussels. The deputy was sent to Belgium on the initiative of Professor Jean-Louis Vincennes from the Erasme Hospital.

On January 24, 2007, information appeared about the deputy’s return to Moscow, where he immediately began his work. According to sources close to the management of OJSC GNK (formerly Nafta-Moscow), Kerimov “has almost completely recovered from the accident” and “works on a daily basis and in full.”

On April 6, 2007, information appeared in the media about Kerimov’s voluntary departure from the LDPR faction. The businessman did not justify his decision in any way. And on April 12, 2007, it became known that Kerimov wrote a statement about his desire to join the United Russia faction.

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