Ziyavudin Magomedov

Ziyavudin Gadzhievich Magomedov (Russian: Зиявудин Гаджиевич Магомедов, born 1968) is a former Russian oligarch who amassed a business empire during presidency of Dmitry Medvedev, who stood in for Vladimir Putin from 2008 to 2012.^[1][2] According to Finance magazine, during just one year of Medvedev's presidency, Magomedov's wealth increased by more than eleven times – from $70M to $800M.^[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.^[6][2][4][7] He used his political ties to acquire assets in port logistics, transport and infrastructure, engineering, construction, telecommunications and technology, as well as oil and gas. Companies of the Summa Group were present in almost 40 regions of Russia, as well as abroad, and employed more than ten thousand people.

Magomedov relied especially on his long and close friendship with Arkady Dvorkovich,^{[4][8][9][10][11][6]} who was a key economic advisor to President Dmitry Medvedev.^[12] Zuyavudin was also closely connected to Vladimir Putin's press secretary Dmitry Peskov^[13][14] and Gennady Timchenko,^[15][16][17] Putin's close friend since the early 1990s and one of the richest oligarchs in Russia.

In 2022 Ziyavudin was included in the list of bribe-takers and warmongers, aka the 6,000 List, compiled by the Anti-Corruption Foundation founded by Alexey Navalny. The purpose of the list was to create a comprehensive list of enablers of the Russo-Ukrainian War and the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. Magomedov was categorized under ‘Individuals involved in corruption’ as ‘a businessman, a friend of Putin's, paid for a honeymoon on a yacht for Peskov's family".^[18][19][20]

Key Russian opposition activists and political prisoners Alexey Navalny and Mikhail Khodorkovsky have accused Magomedov of paying multimillion-dollar bribes by renting or purchasing super-yachts for high-profile Russian officials, including Dmitry Peskov and Vladimir Putin himself.^[13][15]

In March 2018 Ziyavudin Magomedov was arrested in Russia along with his business partner, brother and Russian ex-senator, Magomed Magomedov.^[21] Kremlin representatives claimed that Magomedov's arrest was ‘part of the Russian government's efforts to fight corruption’.^[22][23] Magomedov's defenders led by his cousin Ahmed Bilalov insisted that he was persecuted "under politically motivated circumstances".^[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. However, they also believed that Ziyavudin fell out of favor and gained several enemies among Vladimir Putin's closest and most powerful allies.^[10][26]

Prominent anticorruption activist, Russian opposition leader, and political prisoner Alexey Navalny refrained from characterising Magomedov's arrest as political persecution. Instead, he viewed it as 'merely one set of corrupt officials and fraudsters outmaneuvering another group of corrupt officials and fraudsters.' He further commented,

'Overall, this isn't related to politics. The country's economic base is dwindling, money is becoming scarce, resulting in these swindlers preying on each other. Essentially, it's all part of a larger process of defrauding us, the Russian taxpayers'.^[27]

Magomedov's arrest was also associated with infighting among Russian elites^[28] and the crackdown against the so-called "Medvedev’s clan",^{[29][30][31][32]} which gradually lost its power and influence after Dmitry Medvedev ceded the post of Russian President to Vladimir Putin in 2012. Magomedov was among several oligarchs and high-profile government officials generally linked to Medvedev's clan who were either arrested, removed from office, or fled the country between 2013 and 2019. This group included Magomedov's cousin, Akhmed Bilalov, former Deputy Prime Minister Mikhail Abyzov, and former Minister of Defense Anatoly Serdyukov.

In December 2022 Ziyavudin was sentenced to an unprecedented term of 19 years in prison.^[33] A year later in December 2023 the court of appeal reduced his sentence by six months – from 19 years to 18 years and 6 months.^[34][35][36]

In July 2023 Magomedov filed a $13.8bn legal claim in London's High Court alleging a Kremlin-led conspiracy to seize his assets.^{[37][38][39][40]} Defendants include private equity firm TPG, Dubai-based ports operator DP World, Transneft, and former executives at Magomedov's company. The claim is one of the largest ever brought before the English High Court.^[41]