What's wrong with Suleiman Kerim? Biography. Four villas in the "Billionaires' Bay"

Kerimov Suleiman Abusaidovich(Lezg. Kerimrin Abusaidan hva Suleiman) is a famous Russian entrepreneur, billionaire, deputy of the State Duma of the Russian Federation in 1999-2007, member of the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation from the Republic of Dagestan (since 2008).

Childhood and education of Suleiman Kerimov

Father - Abusaid Kerimov- A lawyer by training, he was an employee of the criminal investigation department. Mother worked as an accountant in the Sberbank system. Kerimov has a brother, who now works as a doctor, and a sister, a teacher of Russian language and literature.

During his school years, Suleiman Kerimov was fond of judo wrestling, as well as kettlebell lifting. He took part in various competitions and became a winner several times. Suleiman Abusaidovich was an excellent student, the future billionaire’s favorite subject was mathematics, he won competitions in this subject, as noted in his biography in Vedomosti.

Subsequently, the Belarusian authorities withdrew the request and closed all criminal cases.

In December 2013, Suleiman Kerimov sold shares of Uralkali Mikhail Prokhorov And Dmitry Mazepin, and the share in the PIK group is Sergei Gordeev And Alexandru Mamutu.

"Anji" by Suleiman Kerimov

The Makhachkala football club Anzhi became the property of Kerimov in 2011. Not far from Makhachkala, at the expense of Suleiman Kerimov, a modern Anzhi-Arena stadium with a functioning children's Football Academy was built.

At first, Suleiman Kerimov decided to make powerful investments in the club, trying to create a European-level superclub in Makhachkala. Under Kerimov they moved to Anzhi Yuri Zhirkov(Chelsea London), Brazilians Roberto Carlos(Corinthians Sao Paulo), Willian("Miner"). Cameroonian super forward was bought Samuel Eto'o(Inter, Milan).

In 2013, Suleiman Kerimov decided to reduce the club’s annual budget to $50-70 million (reducing it by 3 times), the stars were sold, and the club relied on youth. Soon Anji left the top division, but then returned to the elite. Now Anzhi actually owns the club Osman Kadiev.

Politics of Suleiman Kerimov

Despite the fact that his business career required a lot of attention and enormous effort, Suleiman Kerimov entered politics in the late 90s. From 1999 to 2003, Kerimov was a deputy of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation of the 3rd convocation and was a member of its security committee. Then, until 2007, he was a deputy of the Duma of the 4th convocation, where he served as deputy chairman of the committee on physical culture, sports and youth affairs.

In 2008, Kerimov took a post in the Federation Council (FC), and since March 2011, Suleiman Abusaidovich has represented Dagestan in the upper house of the Russian parliament. In 2016, Suleiman Kerimov was again elected to the Federation Council.

Suleiman Kerimov's accident in France

In December 2006, Kerimov (then still a State Duma deputy) for the first time donated food for news to Russian yellow publications: he was in a terrible accident in France, at the entrance to Nice. A luxury Ferrari Enzo crashed into a tree and caught fire, leaving Kerimov severely burned. His companion, then an aspiring TV presenter, was also injured. Tina Kandelaki. Suleyman Kerimov and Tina Kandelaki were saved by airbags. But Kerimov’s clothes caught fire, and he rolled on the grass, trying to put out the flames. He was flown by helicopter to a burn center in Marseille, then flown from France to the Queen Astrid military hospital in Brussels.

While recovering from this accident, Suleiman Abusaidovich wore a special suit filled with silicone.

After this accident, Suleiman Kerimov donated 1 million euros to the Pinoggio charity, which helps children cope with burn injuries. After an accident in France, Suleiman Abusaidovich began wearing flesh-colored gloves.

Charitable activities of Suleiman Kerimov

Kerimov Suleyman Abusaidovich transferred in 2013 all the assets of his enterprises to the Suleyman Kerimov Foundation, which was founded by the billionaire in 2007.

Suleiman Kerimov was one of the initiators of the reconstruction of the Moscow Cathedral Mosque, provided the annual Hajj for several thousand Muslims, international youth and cultural festivals and more.

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.

Income of Suleiman Kerimov

Suleiman Kerimov's fortune in 2016, according to Forbes magazine, was $1.6 billion. In the Forbes income ranking “200 richest businessmen in Russia 2017”, Kerimov took 21st place with an amount of 6.3 billion dollars. In 2011, it was in 19th place in terms of income with $7.8 billion.

Scandals involving the name of Suleiman Kerimov

Suleiman Kerimov was detained on the evening of November 20, 2017 at Nice airport - he arrived in France on personal business. Later it became known that the Russian senator was suspected of laundering funds hidden as a result of tax evasion. French media news, citing the Nice prosecutor, reported that Kerimov illegally imported about 750 million euros into France.

Employees of the Russian Foreign Ministry sought Kerimov's release, betting that he enjoyed diplomatic immunity. At the same time, a RIA Novosti source noted that the senator arrived in France without a diplomatic passport - this document is issued only in the event of an order to be sent on a business trip.

The news reported that according to the Nice prosecutor Jean-Michel Pretre, money was transported by Kerimov in cash in suitcases and in non-cash form. At the same time, as the prosecutor noted, money laundering occurred through the purchase of real estate at a reduced cost. Pretra also emphasized that the purpose of the operation was not the purchase of real estate itself, but the legalization of funds.

Local prosecutors asked to either arrest the senator or increase his bail to 50 million euros. On December 6, news came that Suleiman Kerimov remained at large. At the same time, the amount of bail increased from five to forty million euros, and the circle of people with whom the oligarch cannot communicate has expanded. This decision was made by the Court of Appeal of the French city of Aix-en-Provence.

“An official note from the Russian Foreign Ministry is currently being sent to the French authorities, which states that Kerimov is an official of the Russian Federation and is immune from coercive actions on the territory of other states,” RIA Novosti quoted the head of the international committee of the Federation Council as saying. Konstantin Kosachev.

In addition, representatives of France in the Russian Federation were summoned to the Russian Foreign Ministry to explain the current situation.

Press Secretary of the President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Peskov stated that Moscow will make every effort to protect the interests of Senator Suleiman Kerimov, detained in Nice.

Personal life and hobbies of Suleiman Kerimov

Suleiman Kerimov is married. Oligarch's wife Firuza Nazimovna Khanbalaeva— born in 1967. Suleiman met her at the university - they studied at the same faculty. The family has three children: two daughters - Gulnara (born in 1990) and Amina (2003), and a son, Abusaid (born in 1995).

Sometimes it is Kerimov’s marriage to Firuza Khanbalaeva that explains the successful start of his business career. The fact is that Firuza Nazimovna is the daughter of a major functionary, chairman of the Dagestan Council of Trade Unions Nazim Khanbalaev.

There is little material in the media about the wife of Suleiman Kerimov, the life of Firuza Khanbalaeva passes away from the media, her photos are not published in magazines.

But the news often reported on the oligarch’s lovers. Thanks to them, the country learned how loving the politician and oligarch are. Among his passions was the singer Natalia Vetlitskaya, actress Olesya Sudzilovskaya and a ballerina Anastasia Volochkova(Kerimov even allegedly intended to marry her). After the senator was detained in Nice, the ballerina came out with warm support for her idol.

“He is a representative of the Caucasian man, in whom there is nobility, honor, dignity. I have never loved anyone in my life more than him. This is the first, most serious love of my life!” Volochkova told reporters.

Son of Suleiman Kerimov - Abusaid(Said) Kerimov— in November 2014, he became the owner of the Cinema Park cinema chain (30 cinema complexes in 18 Russian cities), as reported in the news.

19-year-old MGIMO student Said Kerimov became the beneficiary of the company Wandle Holdings Limited, which owns 40.22% of the Polyus Gold company. On the company's website, Said Kerimov is mentioned on the board of directors as a member of the strategy committee. In 2017, Kerimov’s son became the main owner of Makhachkala airport.

Suleiman Kerimov is interested in football and martial arts. In addition, Suleiman Abusaidovich loves sea travel.

Kerimov has a Boeing Business Jet (BBJ) 737−700 and two yachts. As Forbes reported, in 2015, Suleiman Abusaidovich sold his 90-meter yacht Ice to a representative of the clan of the President of Equatorial Guinea Obiang.

One of the richest people in Russia, deputy of the State Duma of the Russian Federation Suleiman Kerimov, was born on March 12, 1966 in the city of Derbent, Dagestan Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic (now the Republic of Dagestan). Father is a lawyer, worked in the criminal investigation department; mother worked as an accountant in the Sberbank of the Russian Federation system.

In 1983, S. Kerimov entered the construction department of the Dagestan Polytechnic Institute, and in 1984, after completing the first year of the institute, he was drafted into the army and completed compulsory military service in the Strategic Missile Forces of the USSR Armed Forces (RVSN Armed Forces of the USSR). After being transferred to the reserve, he continued his studies at the Faculty of Economics of Dagestan State University (DSU) named after. V.I. Lenin, who graduated in 1989 with a degree in Accounting and Analysis of Economic Activities.

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

Since 1995 - General Director of the Soyuz-Finance company (Moscow).

Since April 1997, he has been engaged in scientific activities.

In February-December 1999, he was deputy director of the autonomous non-profit organization International Institute of Corporations.

Since December 1999 - deputy of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation of the third convocation on the federal list of the electoral bloc "Zhirinovsky Bloc", was a member of the State Duma Committee of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation on Security.

On December 7, 2003, he was elected as a deputy of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation of the fourth convocation on the federal list of the LDPR electoral association. In the State Duma, he became a member of the LDPR faction and is deputy chairman of the Committee of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation on Physical Culture and Sports.

In April 2007, he left the LDPR faction and became an independent deputy.

Suleiman Kerimov heads the Board of Trustees of the Russian Wrestling Federation. In his youth, he was fond of judo and kettlebell lifting, and was a multiple champion of various championships. The International Federation of United Styles of Wrestling (FILA) awarded him the “Golden Order” - one of the most prestigious awards.

On April 19, 2007, the Russian version of Forbes magazine published a ranking of the richest citizens of Russia, in which Kerimov took seventh place with $12.8 billion.

Under his control through OJSC GNK Nafta-Moscow and other companies - the mining holding Polymetal (99.5%), National Cable Networks, the Moscow cable operator Mostelecom. He owns 4.5% of the shares of Gazprom ", 5.7% of shares of Sberbank, about 2% of shares of MGTS. Invests in the Moscow region town of Rublevo-Arkhangelskoye (2 million sq. m of luxury housing).

He is the owner of the yacht Ice, built at the Lürssen shipyard in Bremen, Germany. This is a four-deck ship, the length of which is 90 meters. The seven bathtubs and vanities in the owner's and guest cabins are made from solid pieces of limestone, with oak interiors. The owner's bedroom extends from one side of the yacht to the other. On board there is a swimming pool and a helipad. 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, Suleiman Kerimov uses a luxuriously decorated medium-haul passenger airliner Boeing Business Jet (BBJ) 737-700, which accepts 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 reaches $50 million, its non-stop flight range is up to 12,000 km.

Suleiman Kerimov is married. His wife, Firuza, is the daughter of a high-ranking Dagestan official. He met her while studying in Derbent, and soon the lovers got married. According to rumors, Kerimov’s father-in-law helped him get a good job as an economist at the Eltav electronics plant, one of the largest enterprises in Dagestan. Firuza has always been a real “Oriental” wife, she does not like to appear in public, and does not want to communicate with the press. She is raising three children.

Suleiman Kerimov loves social events, parties with pop stars, and sailing on his own yacht, Ice, off the coast of Spain. He loves to throw luxurious parties and give beautiful gifts. He is credited with having affairs with famous singers, ballerinas, and actresses. Kerimov’s name has recently appeared frequently in the press in connection with the accident in France.

On November 25, 2006, on the Promenade des Anglais embankment in Nice, the billionaire and his companion, who, according to some media reports, was the famous Russian TV presenter Tina Kandelaki, were involved in a car accident. For an unknown reason, in a section where the maximum permissible speed is 50 km/h, Kerimov’s Enzo Ferrari super sports car lost control, flew off the road at high speed, crashed into a tree and caught fire. Engulfed in flames, Kerimov was able to get out of the cabin on his own and rolled on the grass, trying to put out the fire. Eyewitnesses of the accident helped him. Only firefighters from Nice Airport were able to extinguish the burning car. The Ferrari, worth about 675 thousand euros, cannot be restored. His companion, Tina Kandelaki, escaped with minor burns and injuries. She was admitted to the Saint-Roch hospital. and after providing her with medical assistance, she flew to Moscow that same evening. Kerimov, who received severe burns, was sent by helicopter to one of the Marseille clinics, and then transported to a clinic in Belgium, where he underwent treatment and returned to Moscow at the end of January 2007 and began work. Today he has fully recovered from the accident and is working daily and at full capacity.

Suleiman Kerimov is one of the richest people in Russia

Suleiman Kerimov is one of the twenty richest people in Russia.

Personal condition

In 2011, his personal fortune was close to $8 billion.
Kerimov owns stakes in Gazprom, Sberbank, Rostelecom and other companies; Kerimov is not indifferent to precious metals: he owns two large gold and silver mining companies. In 2011, Suleiman Kerimov acquired the Anzhi football team. With the arrival of the oligarch, truly “cool” players appeared at Anzhi: Cameroonian Samuel Eto’o, Brazilian Roberto Carlos, Hungarian Balazs Dzsudzsak.

Personal life

Officially, billionaire Kerimov has been happily married for a long time. Suleiman Kerimov’s wife is his classmate Firuza. They met during their student years. Firuza and Suleiman are the parents of three children. The eldest daughter Gulnara is 23 years old, the son Abusaid is five years younger, and the third daughter Aminat is ten years old.

We don’t know whether Suleiman Kerimov’s wife knows about her husband’s “leftist” adventures. But there is a lot of talk about the oligarch’s novels. They mention an affair with singer Natalya Vetlitskaya, to whom he presented diamonds. Kerimov’s list includes Anastasia Volochkova, Olesya Sudzilovskaya, Zhanna Friske, even Ksenia Sobchak and Tina Kandelaki...

It seems that the oligarch collects beautiful women, but Suleiman Kerimov’s wife can rest assured: Eastern men do not get divorced.
Suleiman also has a brother, a doctor by profession, and a sister, a teacher of Russian language and literature.

Charity

Let's give Mr. Kerimov his due: he is actively involved in charity work.

On November 26, 2006 in Nice (France), Kerimov was seriously injured in an accident in his Ferrari Enzo, receiving severe burns and having to wear flesh-colored gloves. After the accident, he donated €1 million to the Pinocchio Foundation, a charity working with children who suffered from burns.

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

Since 1995 - General Director of the Soyuz-Finance company (Moscow).

Since April 1997, he has been engaged in scientific activities.

In February-December 1999, he was deputy director of the autonomous non-profit organization International Institute of Corporations.

In April 2007, he left the LDPR faction and became an independent deputy.

On April 19, 2007, the Russian version of Forbes magazine published a ranking of the richest citizens of Russia, in which Kerimov took seventh place with $12.8 billion.

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.