Ziyavudin Magomedov
[3][4] Prior to his arrest Magomedov was the owner of Summa Group,[5] a large Russian diversified private holding that primarily operated in sectors requiring government licenses and approvals.
[24][25] Independent political analysts acknowledged that the specific charges of 'embezzlement of state funds' during the construction of a soccer World Cup venue in the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad against Magomedov were largely unfounded.
According to Novaya Gazeta, a media outlet headed at the time by 2021 Nobel Prize winner Dmitry Muratov, Magomedov and Dvorkovich briefly shared a room on a university campus.
"Novaya Gazeta, The Prime Minister Removed from His Inner Circle: How the downfall of the Summa company and the arrest of its owners, the Magomedovs, will assist Dmitry Medvedev in retaining his position, 2018 [48]Another of Ziyavudin’s neighbors in the university dormitory was Ruben Vardanyan (future founder of Troika Dialogue).
In 2006 Magomedov's Summa, which had no prior experience in the telecommunications market, unexpectedly obtained a federal license to offer wireless Internet access services using the WiMAX standard.
Financial Times, "Russia: Eyes on the prize", 2012 [4]Media and analysts associated Magomedov’s success with the role of Arkady Dvorkovich, who, as an assistant and then deputy to Medvedev, oversaw the fuel and energy complex, industry, agriculture and transport — the main sectors in which Summa was one way or another present.
According to Financial Times it “put Summa at the centre of the controversy over the proposed sell-off, meaning the stakes it buys and the amount it pays are becoming a crucial test of Moscow’s ability to distance itself from earlier, tainted privatisations and thus bolster the market economy”.
[49] Thus, major part of the company's revenue was connected to sources associated with the Russian state: a country which at the time was ranked 133rd in the Transparency Corruption Perception Index,[62] and where only 3.6% of government procurement was conducted entirely on a competitive basis.
The elder is characterized by calmness and prudence, and at the same time, a difficult character, while the younger by empathy but also a hot temper and unwillingness to compromise with business partners.
Ziyavudin turned out to be an atypical representative of modern Russian business, a realm with its implicit concepts, codes, and rules, the violation of which is a direct path either to emigration or to prison.
Transneft suspected that Magomedov’s company was siphoning money from NCSP.Despite the external harmony of this undoubtedly tactical alliance, the first shareholder conflict between the partners arose almost immediately.
When Magomedov finally secured the right to operational management of the company, the leadership of Transneft suspected the partner of diverting part of the profits in favor of entities under his control.
According to a source in the FSB, the billionaire shifted the center of profit formation to the so-called "pilotage services," which, under contract, performed stevedoring and bunkering work for the port.
An aggravating circumstance could have been that recently the Magomedovs had been involved in financing foreign projects, such as the creation of a vacuum high-speed train based on Elon Musk's idea and the cultivation of artificial diamonds.
They were transferring money abroad while benefiting from significant state contracts and failing important projects within the country.Sobesednik, "From Summa to Prison", 2018[68]Prior to his arrest in 2018, Magomedov's net worth was estimated to be $1.2 billion.
[69] In September 2022 Dossier Center, which "tracks the criminal activity of various people associated with the Kremlin", said a group of Russian business figures led by Gennady Timchenko collected the €583 million needed to construct the 459 ft superyacht Scheherazade.
The Dossier Center report didn't fully identify the other oligarchs involved, but it said that one of the offshore companies, High Definition – which donated $60 million – can be linked to Ziyavudin Magomedov.
[87][88] In September 2022 Dossier Center said that in 2014 Gennady Timchenko formed a group of Russian business figures to collect €583 million needed to construct the 459 ft superyacht Scheherazade.
RBC, "Timchenko, who appeared in court, was denied bail for the former senator", 2021[17]Many bankers and businessmen believe that, as with the 1990s oligarchs, Magomedov's rise and Summa's positioning for the next slice of assets may be dependent on its proximity to power.
RF) and VTB.Proekt Media, "Advisory Board: A guide on Putin's experts", 2023 [89]From 2011 to 2014 Alexander Vinokurov, the son-in-law of Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, held the position of President at Summa Group.
Additionally, Vinokurov continued his roles on the boards of directors for Summa's major subsidiaries, including the Novorossiysk Commercial Sea Port (NCSP), United Grain Company (UZK), and Fesco.
Notably, on 9 March 2022 he was added to the EU Sanctions List for providing a substantial source of revenue to the government of the Russian Federation during the Russo-Ukrainian War.
She also maintains friendly relations with Dmitry Medvedev's press secretary, Natalia Timakova.Sobesednik, "From Summa to Prison", 2018[68]Magomed Magomedov also became president of the Night Hockey League, where Mr Putin plays for fun with top officials and oligarchs, after NMTP took it over in 2016.
Financial Times, "Russian billionaire charged with embezzlement", 2018[29]In 2016, a significant milestone marked the careers of the Magomedov brothers: the Novorossiysk Commercial Sea Port (NCSP), under their ownership, became a sponsor of the Night Hockey League, in which Vladimir Putin actively participates.
It was founded in 2011 at the initiative of Vladimir Putin, who annually takes to the ice in the company of the current Defense Minister Shoigu, billionaires Arkady and Boris Rotenberg, Gennady Timchenko, and others.
[93] After winning the UFC lightweight title, Khabib, in a post-fight interview with Joe Rogan, switched to Russian and publicly asked Putin to release Ziyavudin.
[98] Mr Magomedov's Foundation has also funded a programme to develop IT and computing skills among young people in Dagestan and donated to dozens of orphanages and schools in the region.
[107][108] He was incarcerated[37] in Lefortovo Prison, which the Federal Security Service uses as a maximum-security facility for members of political elite, including oligarchs,[109] former ministers,[110][111] and former senators charged with contracting murders.
[119] In March 2023, a ruling by the London Court of International Arbitration was revealed to have found that Magomedov's joint venture partner, Texas Pacific Group, exploited his incarceration and struck a secret deal to sell its interest in FESCO to Kremlin-linked businessman Mikhail Rabinovich.
[37][38][39][40] The claim alleges that the Russian stated used his arrest to bring transportation group FESCO under the control of Rosatom, and that Transneft conspired to take his interest in NCSP.
