Mikhail Prokhorov, the most shocking billionaire of our country, last May celebrated his 60th anniversary. In recent years, Prokhorov seems to be a businessman from Switzerland. Meanwhile, he earned his billions on the privatization of Norilskel, the largest in Russia and in the world of the manufacturer Nickel and Palladium.
Mikhail Dmitrievich never needed money. He was born on May 3, 1965 in the family of an influential Soviet official, head of the Department of International Relations of the State Committee of the USSR. Prokhorov Jr. studied at a specialized school No. 21, with an in-depth study of the English language. Becoming a high school student. Mikhail entered the Komsomol (communist organization of youth). It seems that young Prokhorov did not impress the ideas of communism. But he was in a very good account at school, and finished it with a gold medal.
Prokhorov retained the attitude to politics as a tool for life.
Having become a student at a prestigious financial university under the Government of the Russian Federation, he joined the Communist Party. There he proved himself a thoughtful and disciplined activist, which the teachers liked very much. At the same time, Mikhail earned his first million with lectures and party meetings. In one of his interviews, he said that in his student years he was engaged in dubious business, Buying with friends more common jeans, and boiled them with a small amount of whiten. Pants acquired a fashionable appearance, and were sold with great profit.
Mikhail graduated from the University in 1989 with a red diploma. And two years later, Prokhorov met Vladimir Potanin, who, it seems, dissuaded yesterday’s student, nicknamed “Giraffe” to exchange for trifles. The business union Potanin and Prokhorov lasted more than 15 years. Together, they founded the “International Financial Company” at first, and later-ONEXIM-Bank. Actually, this is a financial and credit institution and brought billions to friends. And at the same time – the unspoken status of “oligarchs”.
In November 1995, the new Russian government put up 38% of the Norilsk Nickel RAO (51% of voting shares) for the so -called collateral auction. This package went on bail for $ 170 million. Collective auction won ONEXIM-Bank Potanin and Prokhorov, giving $ 230 million for a unique mining and metallurgical plant. It was fabulously cheap: according to the results of 1997, Norilskel’s balance profit left about $ 209 million.
Of course, such a deal immediately caused a big scandal. In 1997, the auditors of the Accounts Chamber of Russia said that the sale of the Norilsk Nickel by depositing a bail with subsequent sale at the competition contradicts the current legislation. Therefore, the counting chamber Recommended Immediately return the “Norilsk nickel” to the state. Of course, no one began to return anything. The scandal was “furious”, and the already announced press conference of the Accounts Chamber was simply canceled.
Joint operation by Prokhorov and Potanin of the “golden core” of the Norilskel plant continued until a loud scandal that erupted in the ski resort Curules (French Alps). In January 2007, the local police detained a number of senior representatives of Russian large businesses as part of an investigation of a very delicate business. The operation involved about 50 police officers who conducted searches in three hotels, and Detained 26 people, including Mikhail Prokhorov.
I did not have to languish behind bars for a long time. Apparently, a team of lawyers worked out their fee well? The detainees were sent to the city of Lyon, where they were detained for three days, after which they released without charges. True, loud scandal served as the cause of a quarrel with Potanin, and the division of jointly acquired property?
Actually, the “divorce” of the business partner also resulted in a large scandal. In June 2008, Vladimir Potanin accused Mikhail Prokhorov of actual deception. According to the former business partner, Prokhorov’s fault was “non-compliance with the agreements in the transaction regarding the sale of the Norilsk Nickel” blocking package. In response to this statement, Mikhail Prokhorov filed a lawsuit, categorically demanding that the statements “as a business reputation defending him”. The judge, contrary to the arguments of the witnesses, recognized Potanin’s words not true.
The next scandalous act of Prokhorov touched almost all representatives of the older generation. On the night of June 6, 2009, hundreds of citizens, part of the drunken, were violently celebrated by the anniversary of the magazine entering the media group of the ONEXIM group Mikhail Prokhorov on the decks of the Aurora memorial cruiser. Judging by the angry letters to numerous newspapers, most of the elderly regarded this as a personal insult. The fact is that the warship built in May 1900 has sacred significance in Russia. If you believe the official history of the former USSR, the shot of the nasal gun of this cruiser announced the beginning of the 1917 revolution. Songs and poems were composed of Aurora, its appearance is captured in hundreds of paintings. It is clear that before Prokhorov it would never occur to anyone to arrange a cocktail party on a ship-museum.
Sometimes the name of Prokhorov fell on the pages of American publications. For example, in the spring of 2010, a congressman from New Jersey, a member of the Budget Committee of the House of US Representatives said that he would demand a government investigation against Mikhail Prokhorov for the relationship of his business interests in Zimbabwe with the bloody dictator. The fact is that at that time the oligarch bought the Basketball club of the NBA with a rich story, and many were seriously worried about this.
As the Russian press wrote, an offshore company associated with Prokhorov, in 2018 acquired The Italian villa by the Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian government in order to “insure” him from Western sanctions. One of the Russian oppositionists maliciously clarified: real estate was bought by Prokhorov for 35.5 million, and in 2008 the politician acquired a plot with a villa for 11 million euros. Say, such a circumstance may suggest a bribery. In May 2018, Prokhorov filed a lawsuit against the opposition for the protection of honor and dignity, and, as usual, won.
This story was not the first case when the billionaire allegedly “insured” the authorities? Is there any reason to believe that he provided such a service much more significant people? So, January 20, 2012 Dear and influential newspaper Kommersant publishedAnd the presidential program of Prokhorov. The document containing the theses of the “oligarch” was compiled with the calculation of “confrontation” with the head of state. “Fighted” Prokhorov in the most favorable mode. Roughly speaking, the authorities belonged to Mikhail Dmitrievich, as “his own.” The services of Prokhorov were all the media sites of the country, and the meetings of his supporters met an extremely benevolent reaction of officials.
Unlike other oppositionists, the slogans of Prokhorov attracted people of creative professions, as well as scientists. As a rule, these two categories of the population most often expresses dissatisfaction with the authorities. According to many political strategists, the votes of these “hidden oppositionists” should accumulate “candidate – spoiler”, who must lose to the “candidate from power” in the elections. Actually, this is how Prokhorov did? Having gathered the voices of the creative and scientific intelligentsia, which could go to the implacable opponents of the president, the oligarch technically disposed of them, convincingly losing the elections.
In the spring of 2019, Mikhail Prokhorov was again in the center of the scandal. Employees of the FSB and the Federal Tax Service conducted searches at the headquarters of his “Onexim”. According to the official version, the audits were held as part of the criminal case on the Tauride bank, 47.45% of the shares of which belongs to Prokhorov. The security forces did not reveal the reasons for their loud visit, but hinted that we are talking about theft and tax failure.
Prokhorov made a difficult decision with lightning speed. A few months later, “ONEXIM” put up all assets for sale. In the language of the authors of detective novels, this is called “chopped off the tails.” Indeed, Prokhorov’s enterprise has already fulfilled its last goal, giving the billionaire the opportunity to expose himself to a “victim”. Probably, this was supposed to convince the Western authorities of the devotion of Mikhail Dmitrievich.
Indeed, in our time it is difficult to maintain a fortune of $ 10.7 billion. The slightest suspicion of the US authorities or the European Union in the loyalty of the “oligarch” to his native country may end for him with rigid sanctions, up to freezing bank accounts. And in this case, whatever the motivation of the “oligarch” was caused, Prokhorov will no longer be able to “insure” influential officials from Moscow?
