Suleiman Kerimov

Suleiman Kerimov (born 1966) is a Russia billionaire and known as "Russia's Richest Civil Servant". He was born in Derbent, Dagestan and is a member of the ultranationalist Liberal Democratic Party. He is listed as #35 on Forbes' World's Richest People, though there seems to be controversy over this ranking since the assets appear to have been financed by significant debts about which no public disclosure has been made. Kerimov is thought to cont... more

Suleiman Kerimov (born 1966) is a Russia billionaire and known as "Russia's Richest Civil Servant". He was born in Derbent, Dagestan and is a member of the ultranationalist Liberal Democratic Party. He is listed as #35 on Forbes' World's Richest People, though there seems to be controversy over this ranking since the assets appear to have been financed by significant debts about which no public disclosure has been made. Kerimov is thought to control Nafta-Moskva, a successor to the Soviet oil trader Soyuznefteexport and has built up his wealth investing in Gazprom and Sberbank. Nafta-Moskva owns 5% of Sberbank and 20% of BINBank, from whom it borrows to finance its leveraged investments in resource companies, using the acquired shares as collateral pledges. He is an enigmatic figure who claims to eschew publicity but advertizes a lavish lifestyle in the media. Further controversy surrounds the original source of wealth preceding the heavy borrowings of the years 2003-2005. In... less