Moscow to seek financial data from Cyprus on Russian billionaire

Russian authorities will be requesting from Cyprus financial data relating to investigations into Russian billionaire businessman Ziyavudin Magomedov who is facing charges of embezzling Russian state funds.

According to the Tass News Agency, an investigator told the Tverskoy Court of Moscow, hearing the case, that they would requesting financial data from both Cyprus and the Virgin Islands relating to Magomedov’s operations.

Magomedov is the main owner of the privately-held investment company Summa Group. In March 2018, he was arrested and charged with “racketeering and embezzlement of state funds.”

The 49-year-old tycoon denies the charges.

It’s understood that he and partners own a Cyprus-based company by the name of Kadina Limited.

Earlier, Russian investigators and prosecutors said that Magomedov is suspected of embezzling 2.5 billion rubles ($43.6 million). Prosecutors say the money was stolen through companies owned by Summa.

Investigators say they haven’t been able to locate the embezzled money, which they believe was moved to various offshore accounts.

The Summa Group is a conglomerate with interests in port logistics, engineering, construction, telecom, oil and gas.

Magomedov’s net worth is estimated at $1.4bn.

 

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.