Dmitri Ryborovlev — Wikipedia

Dmitri Yevguénievich Rybolovlev (in Russian : Dmitry Evgenievich Rybolovlev , English transcription: Dmitry Yevgenyevich Rybolovlev ), born the November 22, 1966 In Perm (Russia), is a Russian-Cypriot businessman.

Doctor by training, Rybolovlev built his fortune in the early 1990s by buying shares of state companies, mainly in the Perm region, and by associating with local figures of politics and organized crime ^{[ 2 ] , [ 3 ]} .

Uralkali, one of the largest producers of potassium fertilizer in the world until 2010.

Monegasque resident, Rybolovlev is the majority shareholder and the president of AS Monaco, of which he has 66.67% since December 2011 ^{[ 4 ]} .

In May 2014, he was involved in “the divorce of the century” ^{[ 5 ]} , which ends with an amicable agreement ^{[ 6 ]} .

In 2019, he was classified 224 ^{It is} richest man in the world with a fortune of $ 6.8 billion ^{[ 7 ]} .

Studies [ modifier | Modifier and code ]

Dmitri Rybolovlev was born in 1966. Son of doctor ^{[ 8 ]} , he is fascinated from the age of 12 by The financier , a short story by Theodore Dreiser who describes the life of a businessman who has made a fortune to Philadelphia as a seller of cheap soaps, and who uses public funds of the city sometimes illegally ^{[ 9 ] , [ ten ]} . He graduated in cardiology at the Perm Medical Institute in 1990 and made his debut in the hospital as an emergencyist ^{[ 11 ]} .

Beginnings in medicine [ modifier | Modifier and code ]

From 1991 to 1993, Dmitri Rybolovlev was director of the medical company “Magnetics”, which he founded with his father and who specializes in the use of magnetotherapy according to the method developed by the latter.
He then developed an interest in emerging market securities ^{[ 11 ]} . Rybolovlev went to Moscow in 1992, where he underwent financial training ^{[ twelfth ]} And receives a certificate from the Ministry of Finance on securities transactions. Then he returned to Perm to organize his investment company, climbed with Vladimir Shevtsov, a former intelligence officer ^{[ 13 ]} . This bought the coupons given to the workers as part of their work, and allows the two partners to create a bank in 1994 to which the main companies in the region adhere. They thus become owners of several mines and factories and rise to the capital of various companies ^{[ 11 ]} .

Entrepreneurship: Uralkali’s development [ modifier | Modifier and code ]

From 1992, Rybolovlev participated in all the privatization towers of the Uralkali company, which is one of the largest producers in the world of potassium fertilizer. In 1995, at 29, he became chairman of the board of directors. In addition, he buys Uralkali actions on the market. He later tried to establish a control over the other producer of potash fertilizer in Russia, Silvinit, but he cannot acquire more than 20% of the company. Uralkali, of which Rybolovlev has 66% in 1996 and in which he established himself as CEO ^{[ 11 ]} , produces 10% of potassium fertilizers worldwide: the majority is exported, mainly in China, India and Brazil ^{[ 14 ]} . This taking of Uralkali would have been carried out “By attracting the good graces of senior officials and governors of the region and reversing with the local mafia” ^{[ 15 ]} .

At the end of 1996, Rybolovlev was arrested as part of the case linked to the assassination of Evgeny Panteleymonov, Managing Director of AO NEFTEKHIMIK Perm (company of which Rybolovlev had 40% of the shares). The official indictment act describes him as the sponsor of the assassination, having illegally provided “2 pistols […] of caliber 7.62 mm “He would then have delivered to the killers ^{[ 16 ]} . He spent eleven months in detention then, defended by the lawyer Andrey Pokhmelkin, brother of the deputy Vladimir Pokhmelkin, representative of the region of Perm at Duma ^{[ 17 ]} , he was finally recognized not guilty by the court in 1998 ^{[ 18 ]} . Damper by this episode, Dmitri Rybolovlev decides to leave his native country to manage his business elsewhere: in Switzerland, the United States and Monaco ^{[ 19 ]} . Rybolovlev also criticizes the regional governor for betraying him and finances the campaign of his opponent, Igor Trutnev, who won the election. He became the Minister of Natural Resources in 2004 ^{[ 11 ] , [ 20 ]} .

In the early 2000s, he demanded from the Chinese government, an important customer from Uralkali, that he paid for his more expensive potassium. He reaches his ends after several months of blocking and pressures ^{[ 8 ]} .

In 2005, Uralkali and Belarusk Belaruskali created BPC (Belarusian Potash Co), a mixed potash marketing company ^{[ 21 ]} . Following the results of this cooperation allowing to lighten the deficit of the Biélorussia trade balance, the Belarusian president Alexandre Loukachenko decides to thank Rybolovlev by exempting him from his income in Belarus ^{[ 22 ]} .

After entering the stock market in London, the company’s action takes 300% in eight months with the explosion of the Potasse price. Rybolovlev entered the 100 largest fortunes in the world in 2007 ^{[ 23 ]} .

In 2006, an important Uralkali mine in Berezniki collapsed, following the flow of a source of fresh water in the mine, which led to the dissolution of the walls and pillars of salt salt ^{[ 24 ]} . 50 million tonnes of potassium are lost, and many power plants are put out of service.

This collapse slows down the growth of the company and generates a real ecological disaster as well as thousands of displaced ^{[ 25 ]} . The disaster would have been largely caused by the fact that the city of Berezniki was built directly on the mine, inheritance of the Soviet period ^{[ 24 ]} . Uralkali would not have taken all the necessary measures to fill the abyss formed during the extraction of potash, which would have ultimately participated in the collapse of the mine. According to “Inaia Gazeta”, a local newspaper, Rybolovlev would have practically halved the coefficient of filling the abyss to save money ^{[ 26 ]} .

But the commission of inquiry, supervised by Yuri Trutnev, political ally and partner of Rybolovlev ^{[ 27 ]} , exempts Uralkali and concludes that an “inevitable natural disaster” ^{[ 11 ]} . This assessment is nevertheless minimized by experts because it was not directly involved in the survey. According to the Russian opposition newspaper Novaïa Gazeta, the report of the commission of inquiry would have been written in part by Oao Galurgia, a structure affiliated with Oao Uralderkali, and therefore in Rybolovlev ^{[ 28 ]} .

In 2008, the Russian government, through the voice of Igor Setchine and under the direction of its chief Vladimir Putin, reopped the file. He claims a very important fine, likely to jeopardize the company, which would have led Dmitri Rybolovlev to refuse, causing a collapse of the course of Uralkali’s action on the London Stock Exchange. In December 2008, Uralkali undertook to pay $ 218 million to the Russian government as compensation for the costs caused by the collapse of the mine ^{[ 29 ]} .

In February 2009, the company signed an agreement with the Ministry of Natural Resources and announced the payment of $ 71.8 million in the Perm region ^{[ 30 ]} .

In April 2010, Roman Poukalov, director of the Russian ecological organization “the green patrol”, noting in passing the extreme pollution of the Kama river and small rivers in the Berezniki region, declared during a press conference in April 2010 that after having analyzed the waters of the Perm region, it appeared that Uralkali’s wastewater exceeded 1850 times the maximum concentrations admitted for organic substances in the fishing reservoirs ^{[ thirty first ] , [ 32 ] , [ 33 ]} . Uralkali’s expenses for environmental protection between 2001 and 2009 would have been particularly low: in 2001, the company paid only $ 700,000 for this purpose, against almost 40 million in 2011, after the departure of Rybolovlev ^{[ 34 ]} .

In 2010, in full divorce, he sold, under pressure, 53% of the capital to a group of Russian investors close to the Kremlin: Kaliha Finance Limited (partly detained by Suleiman Kerimov), Aerellia Investments (of which Alexander Nesis holds 15%) and Becounioco Holdings Limited (whose shareholder is Filaret Gatchev). The three partners (to which monopolitical ambitions are allocated) were lent for $ 3 billion by the VTB state bank. The operation reports $ 5.3 billion in Rybolovlev, not counting the sale of 10% of the shares of the Polyus Gold gold group and 20% of Silvinit ^{[ 19 ]} . Dmitri Rybolovlev leaves Russia the same year, there has been no more activity and has not returned there for several years according to French media information ^{[ 35 ]} .

Installation and investments in Europe [ modifier | Modifier and code ]

Most of these assets are placed in tax havens, including at least two Cypriot trusts responding to the names of Aries and Virgo ^{[ twelfth ]} . According to L’Express , “The first Odella Resources control, a company registered in the British Virgin Islands. Through him, the boss of ASM [acquired] in September 2010 9.7% of the capital of Bank of Cyprus [the largest Cypriot bank], for an amount of 223 million euros ” ^{[ twelfth ]} . This investment makes him the most important Russian investor in the Cypriot banking sector ^{[ 25 ]} . In addition, it renovates the Limassol Orthodox Cathedral (for 17.5 million euros) as well as other religious buildings on the island. The year of the reopening of the cathedral, he obtained the Cypriot passport, making him a citizen of the European Union ^{[ 36 ]} .

Following the deep recession of the country, on March 25, 2013, the Eurogroup decided with the Cyprus government that the Bank of Cyprus will take over the remains of Laiki Bank. To finance the operation and save Bank of Cyprus from bankruptcy, it is also decided that the accounts of more than 100,000 € € would suffer a discount on their assets of around 50%, which destroys the majority of the participation of Rybolovlev and ends its involvement in the bank with a loss of $ 600 million ^{[ 37 ]} .

In September 2016, the Russian press reported that Rybolovlev would have obtained the Liberation in Monaco de George Bedjamov, a Russian national held since March 2016 in Monaco ^{[ 38 ] , [ 39 ]} . Georgi Bedjamov, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Bank VneshPrombank and the Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation of Russia, had been arrested by Monegasque police on the basis of an international arrest warrant issued by Russia, which ‘Accused of being linked to the bankruptcy scandal of the VNESHPROMBANK bank which left a hole of 210 billion rubles. In July 2016, Prince Albert II refused the extradition of Bedjamov in Russia and ordered his release, a decision confirmed by the Monaco Court of Appeal ^{[ 40 ]} . In exchange for his intervention for the release of Bedjamov, Rybolovlev would have received compromising information on the part of the latter on funds held by members of the Russian and economic elite Russian and economic elite ^{[ 41 ]} . Questioned on this subject by the French press, Rybolovlev denies any link with this affair ^{[ 42 ] , [ 43 ]} .

Acquisition of AS Monaco [ modifier | Modifier and code ]

After trying to invest in the Dynamo Minsk clubs ^{[ 44 ]} and Manchester United ^{[ 45 ]} , Rybolovlev, after a first unsuccessful approach in April 2011 ^{[ twelfth ]} , becomes the majority shareholder of AS Monaco the December 23, 2011 With 66% of the club (leaving the other shares to Prince Albert II of Monaco ^{[ 19 ]} ), chairman of the board of directors and president of the club ^{[ forty six ] , [ 4 ]} . The operation is carried out through the company Monaco Sport Invest (MSI), which belongs to a trust established in Cyprus and is domiciled at the headquarters of Rigmora Holdings LTD, the family owner of the ASM owner ^{[ twelfth ]} . It costs him a symbolic euro and is facilitated by Willy de Bruyn, who also integrates the club’s board of directors ^{[ 11 ]} , as well as Jean-Marc Goiran, sports agent and friend of the prince ^{[ twelfth ]} . AprRes Willy the BRUYN, “The Principality no longer wanted to fully finance the club” ^{[ twelfth ]} . The Magazine team and the Sunday newspaper suggested that Rybolovlev was looking, in exchange for his investment, to obtain a Monegasque passport to protect himself legally, and this through the Prince Albert II. This interpretation is corroborated by journalist John Elmer ^{[ 11 ]} . Clément Guillou, journalist for Rue89 , hypothesizes that Dmitri Rybolovlev thus seeks to “Better protect his assets in the event that Cypriot locks did not resist the army of lawyers for his ex-wife” ^{[ 36 ]} . For Pierre Demoux, journalist at Echo , more than protection, this passport “Would have a prestigious character, an entry into a closed club” ^{[ 20 ]} . Nevertheless, Prince Albert II would refuse to grant him the Monegasque passport in order to rehabilitate the image of the Principality, accused of being a tax haven ^{[ 36 ]} ; the reluctance of “Some influential clans on the rock” is also mentioned ^{[ 20 ]} .

AS Monaco is then on the verge of national relegation; At first saved by investments made at the 2011-2012 inter-season, the club became champion of Ligue 2 in 2012-2013. The new Russian owner decides to reorganize the Monaco team in full as much in the field as in the administration with, in particular, the arrival of Tor-Kristian Karlsen as Director General of the Club ^{[ 47 ]} And the return of Jean-Louis Campora to advise him. He invests in the club several tens of millions of euros and had Claudio Ranieri signed, among others, coach and various international players like Carl Medjani, Lucas Ocampos for around 11 million euros ^{[ 48 ]} , ou Encore Andrea Raggi ^{[ 49 ]} .

Durant the market Estival 2013 , Monaco acquires two new players from FC Porto (James Rodríguez and João Moutinho) against 70 million euros (including premiums). Shortly after, the signatures of Ricardo Carvalho from Real Madrid and Radamel Falcao, the Atletico Madrid player, are formalized by the Principality club. The latter becomes the most expensive player in the history of the French championship, before being dethroned by Edinson Cavani, transferred to Paris Saint-Germain. ASM also brings up in Ligue 1 the two French internationals Éric Abidal and Jérémy Toulalan. On the side of the framing, Rybolovlev is gradually leading a “Russification campaign” : At the start of the 2013-2014 season, executive, administrative and sports directors are now compatriots from the president; From the business world, they discover the world of football. Vadim Vasilyev is notably promoted to club vice-president, replacing Jean-Louis Campora ^{[ twelfth ]} . The club finally finished in second place in the ranking, thus qualifying for the Champions League. Dmitri Rybolovlev however decides to limit his investments for personal reasons ^{[ 50 ]} . According to the specialized press “what would have decided to stop the costs is this request for a Monegasque passport still not satisfied. In order to protect itself from possible new legal proceedings in Russia and a possible extradition that its Cypriot passport would not avoid, Rybolovlev was running after this sesame for too long for its taste to continue playing the game of the Principality ” ^{[ 51 ]} . Professional circles consider that Dmitri Rybolovlev would have now abandoned the Monegasque project ^{[ 52 ]} . In addition, AS Monaco is under the survey of UEFA within the framework of financial fair play ^{[ 53 ]} .

In September 2014 , after spending 230 million euros on the transfer market since the arrival of Dmitri Rybolovlev, AS Monaco separates five holders, including Radamel Falcao and James Rodríguez, for more than 110 million, and Claudio Ranieri is replaced at the coach post by Leonardo Jardim ^{[ 20 ]} . Since the arrival of Dmitri Rybolovlev, the Portuguese players agent Jorge Mendes has played an important role in club transfers, in particular because of his proximity to Luis Campos, advisor to the vice-president and then technical director of the club. For Release , “Rybolovlev obtained thanks [to Jorge Mendes] what he wanted: a place at the table of powerful” ^{[ 54 ]} .

In 2017, after defeating Saint-Etienne 2-0, AS Monaco was crowned French Ligue 1 champion ^{[ 55 ]} , and the club also reaches the semi-final of the Champions League ^{[ 56 ]} .

The same year, the club announced an investment of 50 million euros to launch the construction of a training and performance center in Turbie, planned to be one of the most modern in Europe ^{[ 57 ]} . Construction is approved by the town hall of the Turbie in July 2018 ^{[ 58 ]} .

In July 2018 , Rybolovlev is presented by the press as potential buyer of the shares of the businessman Li Yonghong in AC Milan, but the transaction will not be finalized ^{[ 59 ]} .

In October 2018 , the club announces the departure of Leonardo Jardim ^{[ 60 ]} , and the hiring of Thierry Henry as coach until June 2021 ^{[ sixty one ]} . The February 14, 2019 , he decides to return Vadim Vasilyev from his duties to AS Monaco.

In 2022, his name appeared in the ” Putin Accountability Act », A bill introduced (not accepted) to the United States Congress of January 19, 2022, among the names to be sanctioned. But, in the list published on March 3, 2022 by the administration of the American president Joe Biden, on the taxation of sanctions against 19 oligarchs and 47 members of their families, as reported by the White House, Rybolovlev n ‘ not appear ^{[ 62 ]} .

While many Russian oligarchs, including other investors in sport, are targeted by Western sanctions from mars 2022 Following the invasion of Ukraine, it is spared by them not being close to Vladimir Putin. The Professional Football League said that he does not consider any sanction against AS Monaco ^{[ 35 ] , [ 63 ]} .

On the side of the other French Ligue 1 teams, there has so far been a single voice demanding the boycott of the club. “There is no problem getting around and playing in Monaco. As much as we have to support the Ukrainians and particularly to the players and football coaches, as much we cannot blame any person of Russian nationality ” , for example said Nice coach Christophe Galtier, one of the most respected technicians in the championship ^{[ 63 ]} .

Track record [ modifier | Modifier and code ]

AS Monaco

• League 1
• Winner: 2017
• Vice-champion : 2014 2018
• Ligue 2
• Winner: 2013
• Ligue’s cup
• Finalists : 2017 and 2018
• French Cup
• Finalists : 2021
• Semi-finalist: 2017 and 2022
• Quarter finalist: 2015
• Champions League
• Semi-finalist: 2017
• Finalists: 2004
• Quarter finalist: 2015

Movie theater [ modifier | Modifier and code ]

Dmitri Rybolovlev would have contributed to the financing of the film “Top Gun: Maverick” ^{[ sixty four ]} .

Panama Papers [ modifier | Modifier and code ]

In April 2016, the name of Dmitri Rybolovlev was cited as part of the scandal caused by the revelations from Panama Papers . According to the French press, Dmitri Rybolovlev would have “used a screen company established in the British Virgin Islands to hide, in particular, works of art in order to put them out of the reach of his ex-wife at the time of their divorce” ^{[ 65 ]} . After transferring the ownership of works of art to the company Xitrans Finance Ltd ^{[ 66 ]} . Registered in the British Virgin Islands, Dmitri Rybolovlev would then have sent the fabrics to London or Singapore to get them out of Switzerland ^{[ sixty seven ] , [ 68 ]} . In addition to Xitrans Finance Ltd., the documents from the Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca revealed the existence of another company domiciled in the British Virgin Islands, Talasea Limited, created in August 2006 and of which Dmitri Rybolovlev is the codirector with Mikhail Sazonov , his financial advisor renowned very close to the AS Monaco club ^{[ 69 ]} .

[ modifier | Modifier and code ]

On December 21, 2016, as part of the football leaks investigation, Mediapart reveals that Dmitry Rybolovlev, president of AS Monaco, had an investment fund that secretly bought players’ shares, all with the Portuguese agent Jorge Mendes ^{[ 70 ]} . This investment fund (Browsefish Limited) registered in Cyprus but whose address leads to Rybolovlev in Monaco “would have bought in June 2014 shares of the economic rights of six players in Braga, when the purchase of shares of players by a third party (TPO) was authorized except in certain countries such as France and the United Kingdom ” ^{[ 71 ]} . Thus, when the Brazilian player Fabinho is loaned to AS Monaco by Rio Ave, he was already 48.5% detained by Browsefish Limited, the Rybolovlev offshore, which means that the latter was already half owner of A footballer who was playing in his club ^{[ 72 ]} . To get around this problem, Gestifute, the company of Jorge Mendes, bought the shares of Rybolovlev in Fabinho to then resell them for a sum between 5 and 6 million euros, but officially for only 10 euros of euros, according to The document recorded by Monaco in the FIFA transfers regulation system. On the other hand, the Gestifute company, which had 97% of Fabinho at the time of purchase, does not appear in the document transmitted to FIFA. A situation which “strongly resembles a TPO operation disguised for the benefit of Jorge Mendes, fifteen days after the ban on this practice” ^{[ 71 ]} .

The Football Leaks survey also revealed that the AS Monaco club was forced to pay a sum “about 11.7 million euros” to the Spanish tax for the sale of three players in Spain, Carrasco, Abdennour and James Rodriguez ^{[ seventy three ]} .

Links with Donald Trump and the 2016 American presidential campaign [ modifier | Modifier and code ]

Relations between Dmitri Rybolovlev and Donald Trump have been the subject of official investigations in the United States from the special prosecutor Robert Mueller, the FBI and the US Senate as part of the Russian interference charges in the presidential election American 2016 ^{[ 74 ] , [ 75 ]} .

Investigators were particularly interested in the 2008 purchase in 2008 of the Villa “La Maison de l’Amitié” by Dmitri Rybololvev to Donald Trump for $ 95 million ^{[ 76 ]} . This transaction, occurring at the height of the subprime crisis, would have allowed the future American president to avoid bankruptcy by achieving a capital gain of $ 54 million ^{[ 77 ]} . This unexpected rescue could assume an arrangement between the Kremlin and Donald Trump through Dmitri Rybolovlev, as the Democratic Senator of Oregon Ron Wyden thinks, who asked the US Treasury to make all the details related to this transaction ^{[ 78 ] , [ 79 ]} .

According to a testimony of his ex-wife tabled during their divorce procedure, the Russian olig one bought this property without any hesitation, but never resided it ^{[ 77 ]} . Rybolovlev is shaved the villa in 2016 and divides property into three separate lots ^{[ 80 ]} .

Another point on which investigators have looked: Wilbur Ross, the current US government secretary of trade, became in 2014 the main shareholder of the Bank of Cyprus, a Cypriot financial institution having close links with Russia, and of which Rybolovlev has been the main shareholder since 2010 ^{[ 81 ] , [ 82 ] , [ 83 ]} .

These links between Rybolovlev and Trump resurfaced in the 2016 American presidential election, after their respective planes were identified in various airports at the same time, notably on November 3, 2016 in Charlotte ^{[ 84 ]} (North Carolina), but also in Las Vegas on October 30 ^{[ 85 ]} , and Miami from February 10 to 12, 2017 ^{[ eighty six ]} , suggesting the holding of secret meetings between the two men during the campaign and shortly after ^{[ 77 ]} , what the two main interested parties have formally denied ^{[ eighty seven ] , [ 88 ]} .

Some American commentators also mentioned a stay of Rybolovlev in Croatia in 2016 at the same time as Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner, just after his plane was identified with the Hamptons, where the lawyer for Donald Trump then was staying ^{[ 89 ] , [ 75 ]} .

Dmitri Rybolovlev is not officially prosecuted in the United States for interference, but appears on the list written by the US Treasury of Oligches and Politicians close to Russian power likely to be struck with sanctions and made public on January 29, 2018 in the of Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act Adopted by the US Congress in July 2017 ^{[ 90 ] , [ 91 ] , [ 92 ] , [ 93 ]} .

Attempted corruption of Geneva judges [ modifier | Modifier and code ]

On August 18, 2018, the Vaudois daily newspaper 24 hours Relates the closure, after three years of investigation, of an open criminal instruction against Dmitri Rybolovlev and Tetiana Bersheda for corruption of magistrates ^{[ ninety four ]} . The two individuals were accused of having tried to corrupt the judges responsible for the divorce of the Rybolovlev spouses in 2014 ^{[ 95 ]} .

According to the classification ordinance made on September 5 following by the first public prosecutor of Geneva Stéphane Grodecki, the justice held for truthful that Tetiana Bersheda had sent by email to Yves Bouvier on September 30, 2014 A list comprising the magistrates to corrupt ^{[ 96 ]} . Shortly after refusing to comply with this injunction, Yves Bouvier will be arrested in Monaco following a trap that Rybolovlev had held him ^{[ 97 ]} .

While concluding that “the facts denounced by Yves Bouvier were not false”, the Geneva prosecution had nevertheless to classify the procedure. Indeed, “if the attempt at stress or corruption is punishable, on the other hand the simple preparatory acts of constraints or active corruption are not punishable” explains the first prosecutor, who underlines that these attempts at corruption are “morally particularly criticized and shocking “and that the procedure would be taken up without delay” if elements should appear, demonstrating a beginning of the execution ” ^{[ 98 ]} . In addition, the procedure having “updated an activity of Tetiana Bersheda which seems to be incompatible with the rules of the profession of lawyer, the classification order was sent to the commission of the Geneva Barreau ^{[ 96 ]} .

Painting case [ modifier | Modifier and code ]

To develop his art collection, Rybolovlev Mandate in 2003 the Yves Bouvier art merchant. In ten years, Bouvier bought a collection estimated at Rybolovlev for Rybolovlev at around two billion dollars. As an intermediary, he received a 2% commission on each transaction. During the 2014 New Year Dinner, an art consultant (Sandy Heller) randomly teaches Rybolovlev that Modigliani’s masterpiece that he has just bought ( Naked lying , from 1917) sold $ 93 million, not 118 million as billed Yves Bouvier ^{[ 99 ]} .

On February 26, 2015, following a complaint filed by Rybolovlev, Yves Bouvier was arrested and indicted in Monaco for suspicion of fraud as part of the sale of different master tables ^{[ 100 ]} . Tania Rappo, who presented Bouvier at Rybolovlev, is also placed in police custody for “money laundering”.

Rybolovlev accuses Bouvier of having sold him paintings at exaggerated prices and of having defrauded him by nearly a billion dollars. He accuses Tania Rappo of having received nearly 100 million euros in commissions. The case is still ongoing.

In parallel with criminal complaints, a civil complaint is filed in Singapore (place of residence of Yves Bouvier) in March 2015. The High Court of Singapore was initially, following the request of Rybolovlev, ordered world frost assets of Yves Bouvier, before lightening these measures ^{[ 101 ]} To request, on the contrary, bank guarantees to the Russian billionaire ^{[ 102 ] , [ 103 ]} . The Hong Kong Court also pronounces a freezing of Yves Bouvier’s assets in 2015 ^{[ 104 ]} While civil procedure continues in Singapore ^{[ 105 ]} .

In March 2016, Rybolovlev submitted a request to the Manhattan Federal Court to access exchanges between Bouvier and the Sotheby’s auction house. The Court granted this request in 2017. These documents seem to show that Sotheby’s was an accomplice of the scam practiced by Bouvier ^{[ 106 ]} . However, Sotheby’s tries to prevent Dimitri Rybolovlev from using these documents in justice, and refutes all the accusations ^{[ 107 ]} .

In November 2017, Rybolovlev proceeds to sell the table Savior of the world of Leonardo da Vinci, for the record price of 450.3 million euros ^{[ 108 ]} . Despite this added value, Rybolovlev refuses to withdraw his complaint against Bouvier, now that the methods used by the latter were criminal ^{[ 109 ]} .

In February 2018, Yves Bouvier was heard by the Attorney General Yves Bertossa, who notified him of the opening of an investigation “As a defendant” (Swiss equivalent of an indictment) ^{[ 110 ]} And ask him to provide different documents and invoices.

In October 2018, Rybolovlev files a complaint against Sotheby’s and claims $ 380 million to have “Knowingly and intentionally” rendered the fraud possible. In his complaint, Rybolovlev alleys that the auction house knew the amounts really paid by Bouvier to the sellers and the difference with the price billed to him ^{[ 111 ]} . According to lawyers from Rybolovlev, Yves Bouvier was close to Samuel Valette, the vice-president of Sotheby’s in charge of private sales, whose police would have found trace of the involvement as part of his investigation into Yves Bouvier ^{[ 106 ]} . The case is still in progress.

Irregularities have been noted in the investigation of the complaint of Dmitry Rybolovlev by the Monegasque authorities. A document produced by the HSBC bank, crucial to justify the charge of Yves Bouvier because establishing his presence as an agent or beneficiary of four real estate companies (SCI) in Monaco, has thus been completely false. The bank later recognized a “copy-paste” error ^{[ 112 ]} . Some time before, Philippe Narmino, director of Monegasque judicial services and Gerard Cohen, managing director of the HSBC bank in Monaco were seen in the presence of Dmitry Rybolovlev at a worldly evening organized in Gstaad by a Swiss jeweler ^{[ 113 ] , [ 114 ]} .

Following the revelation of this preparatory meeting, the Monegasque judge Pierre Kuentz was seized of a complaint aimed at “to clarify the suspicions of judicial collusion for the benefit of Dmitri Rybolovlev in the context of the initial procedure” and opened an investigation ^{[ 115 ]} . In addition, on June 2, 2016, the Council Chamber of the Court of Appeal of Monaco ordered the hearing of seven employees of the local subsidiary of the HSBC bank, and wondered about the former CEO of the Bank (Gérard Cohen) and “His functions and the nature of the relationships he has with the HSBC and Mr. Rybolovlev bank” ^{[ 116 ]} .

In this case, Rybolovlev does not officially intervene as a complainant, but as a simple witness, in his capacity as an accent art consultant, an offshore company held by Domus Trust whose daughter is the beneficiary ^{[ 117 ]} This unusual situation is described as “serious procedural irregularity” by one of the lawyers of Yves Bouvier, who notes that given that Dmitri Rybolovlev himself qualified as a victim during his hearing, he cannot be heard as a witness, but should be as a complainant ^{[ 117 ]} .

The role played by Tatiana Bersheda, lawyer for Dmitri Rybolovlev ^{[ 118 ]} is questioned by many observers. It was she who brought Yves Bouvier to Monaco to meet Dmitri Rybolovlev, when in reality he was expected by eight police officers ^{[ 119 ] , [ 120 ]} . During the filing of Rybolovlev complaints in Monaco, in defiance of the rules of procedure and impartiality, she intervenes both as a lawyer and interpreter of the latter and other complaints and complaints, without the Monegasque justice emotional ^{[ 117 ]} . In addition, according to Vanity Fair , “Height of confusion, she is herself questioned as a witness while she represents the complainant ^{[ 121 ]} ».

Tatiana Bersheda has since triggered the case has itself been the subject of two charges in Monaco and an indictment in Nice. In February 2016, the lawyer was charged for the first time in Monaco by the Monegasque investigating judge Pierre Kuentz for violation of a privacy for having recorded without a dinner Tania Rappo, a community friend of Yves Bouvier and of Dmitri Rybolovlev ^{[ 122 ] , [ 123 ]} . Following the complaint filed by Tania Rappo, Rybolovlev and Bersheda had been placed in police custody in Monaco in November 2015 ^{[ 124 ]} . During this police custody, Rybolovlev said that he had not been informed of this illicit listening, of which Bersheda also recognizes illegality. This statement is contradicted by the own statements of Rybolovlev when he was filled with a complaint, in which he had admitted having considered the possibility of secretly recording a conversation with Yves Bouvier ^{[ 125 ]} . On July 14, 2016, Tetiana Bersheda was charged a second time in Monaco insults and public defamation by the Monegasque investigating judge Morgan Reymond following declarations of the lawyer Financial Times ^{[ 126 ]} . Tetiana Bersheda is also indicted on September 21, 2016 by the Nice Tribunal de Grande Instance for defamation, after having compared Yves Bouvier to Madoff in an article published by nice morning ^{[ 127 ]} .

On November 6, 2018, Dmitri Rybolovlev was interviewed by the Monegasque police. His lawyers explain that “The facts for which it is heard are based on the exploitation of the mobile phone of his lawyer [Tetiana Bersheda] which is the subject of an appeal to the Court of Revision of Monaco” ^{[ 128 ]} . He was declared “official suspect” by the prosecutor of the Principality as part of a corruption investigation. He was released and placed under judicial supervision ^{[ 129 ]} .

In an interview with daily nice morning in December 2018 ^{[ 130 ]} , Dmitri Rybolovlev’s lawyer, Me Hervé TEMIME, denounces repeated violations of the secrecy of the investigation and “finds deplorable that the investigation file is in the media, probably delivered in an interested manner”. He also considers that “we forget the gravity of the initial scam due to the richness of {his} customer”, seeing “a form of ostracism towards the Russian and rich man”.

On December 12, 2019, the Monaco Court of Appeal canceled the procedure for scam launched in 2015 against Yves Bouvier ^{[ 131 ]} .

On January 25, 2021, the Swiss newspaper Le Temps revealed that the Geneva public prosecutor made the decision to classify the criminal complaint filed by Dmitri Rybolovlev against Yves Bouvier, his former man of trust in the art market. “The public prosecutor notes an impediment to proceed,” explains the document communicated to the two parties, to motivate the classification decision ^{[ 132 ]} .

In February 2021, disputes between Rybolovlev and Bouvier are still underway in several jurisdictions, notably in the United States, London and Paris ^{[ 133 ]} .

He was married to Elena Rybolovleva, married in the third year of medical studies ^{[ twelfth ]} And with whom he had two daughters, Ekaterina born in 1989 and Anna born in 2001. His divorce in 2010 was publicized because of the requirements of his ex-wife: exasperated by his supposed infidelities repeated with young models on her yacht, she has claimed no less than 7 billion euros, the most expensive divorce in history ^{[ 19 ] , [ 134 ]} Until Jeff Bezos’s ^{[ 135 ]} .

As early as December 2008, Elena Rybolovleva wrote to the Prosecutor General of Geneva reporting on her fears and the pressures of which she is the subject ^{[ 136 ]} .

According to L’Express , “Rybolovlev had asked his wife to sign [in 2005] a document depriving her of part of his rights. At the same time, Dmitry Rybolovlev had formed the two Trusts Cypriots [Aries and Virgo] without informing it ” ^{[ twelfth ]} , what he defends ^{[ ten ]} (cf. supra ). Rybolovlev declares in the newspaper The team , the June 3, 2013 : “I did everything to ensure the future of our two daughters and I only defend their interests. I have all confidence in justice. But I would not be surprised if some false information appeared in the press. No blackmail is acceptable to me ” ^{[ 137 ]} . Dmitri Rybolovlev is however suspected of using the couple’s eldest girl, Ekaterina, to put matrimonial property out of the reach of his wife within the framework of the divorce ^{[ 138 ]} .

According to West France , it is a question for Rybolovlev to protect his fortune because of the Swiss law which, within the framework of the divorce body, grants half of it to his wife: she is now out of reach of her ^{[ 19 ]} . According to Rybolovlev, these trusts are “Financial structures that were created long before divorce to ensure the future of our children. This is inheritance planning ” ^{[ ten ]} . The Swiss courts have however retained that the older girl of the couple, Ekaterina Rybolovleva, lent her signature for some of her father’s real estate purchases in order to get these goods out of the divorce procedure ^{[ 139 ]} . However, this judgment confirmed the validity of the trustees created by Mr. Rybolovlev and the validity of the assisting transfer to his daughters who occurred long before his wife brought a divorce procedure. Consequently, the decision suggests that the transfer of property to heirs through the trust structures, especially for the children of the couple, is therefore safe from judicial and assured dispute ^{[ 140 ]} .

In 2013, Dmitri Rybolovlev, admitted, as part of a hearing ordered by a Florida court, having brought the funds to
The acquisition of the house of friendship “in Palm
Beach and have paid maintenance costs and taxes, while this property is supposed to belong to a trust in favor of his daughters ^{[ 141 ]} .

He also moved to Monaco, where his parents reside ^{[ 8 ]} and whose community he joined thanks to Willy de Bruyn, Belgian businessman and administrator of the Société des Bains de Mer ^{[ 11 ] , [ 19 ]} . He indicates about this move: “I always wanted to settle there, but my wife did not agree. When she asked for divorce, I was finally able to realize this dream. I like the climate, the quality of life, but also the infrastructure and the geographic position, practical for me that travels a lot ” ^{[ ten ]} . The other explanation chosen for the installation in Monaco is the complete absence of integration of Dmitri Rybolovlev in Switzerland and a strategic decision within the framework of the divorce which opposes him to his wife Elena Rybolovleva ^{[ 142 ]} .

On February 25, 2014, Elena Rybolovleva was arrested by Cypriot police in Larnaca (Cyprus) as soon as she got off the plane, when she came from Switzerland at the request of Dmitri Rybolovlev to conclude an agreement on their separation ^{[ 143 ] , [ 144 ]} . This arrest follows an emergency arrest order on a Sunday afternoon by the assistant prosecutor Erotokritou at the request of Dmitri Rybolovlev, on the grounds that M ^me Rybolovleva would have stolen him a ring worth 25 million euros which he had actually offered him ^{[ 145 ]} . Dispatched on the spot, his lawyer Marc Bonnant obtained his release the next day by providing written proof that this ring belonged well to Elena Rybolovleva, which incurred 12 years in prison ^{[ 143 ]} .

In May 2014, the court responsible for managing its divorce rules in favor of its former woman who obtained 3.295 billion euros, making it one of the most expensive divorces in the world. The court judged that the assets that Dmitri Rybolovlev had placed in Cypriot trusts were part of the couple’s property to share for half, in accordance with Swiss law ^{[ 146 ]} . Dmitri Rybolovlev refused, a year before this judgment, to make an agreement for a few hundred million euros ^{[ 147 ]} . Dmitri Rybolovlev called on this judgment ^{[ 148 ] , [ 149 ]} .

However, the two parties in the case acknowledged that the Swiss decision is far from a final decision and that the case should continue for an extended period, in several courts ^{[ 150 ]} .

In June 2014 , Dmitri Rybolovlev is operated on a tumor in Santo Domingue ^{[ 36 ]} .

According to a divorce judgment on appeal rendered by the Court of Justice of Geneva in June 2015, Rybolovlev will have to pay much less than expected to his ex-wife Elena. Instead of the 4 billion Swiss francs initially claimed, half of his fortune, the Russian oligarch will now give him only 564 million ^{[ 151 ]} .

The lawyer for Rybolovlev, Tetiana Bersheda, said he was very satisfied with the judgment. The main stumbling block of this divorce is a date problem to encrypt the value of part of the heritage. Titles were transferred to a trust in 2005, and were sold in 2008 with a huge capital gain. The value of the trust was calculated in 2005 for sharing, not in 2008, as Rybolovleva claimed ^{[ 6 ]} .

In 2018, Dmitri Rybolovlev is classified 242 ^{It is} The richest person in the world (Forbes ranking), with an estimated fortune at $ 6.8 billion.

He has two planes: a Dassault Falcon 7x jet (30 million euros) and an Airbus A319 (55 million euros) ^{[ 44 ]} , as well as the “My Anna” yacht (named after her younger daughter) acquired for 85 million euros via the Trust Virgo ^{[ twelfth ] , [ 152 ]} .

He collects works by great masters (Picasso, Van Gogh, Gauguin, Monet, Degas, Chagall, etc.) and period furniture. This artistic heritage, hosted by the Trust Virgo via a company registered in the British Virgin Islands, is estimated in total at 500 million euros ^{[ twelfth ]} .

Since July 2021, Dmitri Rybolovlev also owns the boat Le Skorpios, renowned the shots A Clubswan 125 racing yacht of the Finnish shipyards Nautor’s Swan (in (in) ) ^{[ 153 ] , [ 154 ]} . In October 2019, Dmitri Rybolovlev participated in the 2019 Trophy Nations, an international nautical competition that took place in Palma bay. The team he leads, the Skorpios, whose skipper is the Olympic champion Fernando Echavarri, wins the competition in the Clubswan 50 category ^{[ 155 ]} . In 2020, Dmitri Rybolovlev won bronze medals at the world championships in 2020 in Scarlino. The team is the only one to have been two years in a row on the podium of the Clubswan 50 World Cup ^{[ 156 ]} .

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In 2008, he bought the villa “La Maison de l’Amitié” belonging to the famous billionaire and former American president: Donald Trump for $ 95 million. It is located in Palm Beach, Florida ^{[ 157 ]} .

In 2011, her daughter Ekaterina Rybolovleva bought a New York luxury apartment worth $ 88 million, the most expensive apartment ever sold in Manhattan (NY) ^{[ 158 ]} . The apartment was until then the property of Sandy Weill, the former president of Citigroup. However, it seems that Ekaterina served as a nominee for her father in this operation, which led a New York court to order the hearing of Dmitri Rybolovlev ^{[ 159 ]} .

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Dmitri Rybolovlev bought the Monegasque penthouse in 2,000 in 2010 m ² “The Belle Epoque” by paying the sum of 235 million euros, via the Trust Cypriot Domus ^{[ twelfth ]} . He is his current main residence, he lives there with his retired parents and his daughter Ekaterina. Formerly, she belonged to the Edmond Safra banker.

In April 2013 , the Trust Aries allows Ekaterina Rybolovleva to buy certain companies belonging to Athina Onassis ^{[ twelfth ]} . Among the properties included in the transaction are the islands of Skorpios and Sparti, at a cost of 117 million euros ^{[ twelfth ]} . Ekaterina Ryboblovleva said that these islands have both personal interest and financial potential. It hopes to improve its long -term appeal using, among other things, environmentally friendly technologies ^{[ 160 ]} . The launch of a luxury hotel project is announced in 2018.

In 2012, Ekaterina bought a mortgage of 56 million euros on a hotel complex in Gstaad whose parents competed for control. The Swiss courts have retained that Dmitri Rybolovlev had created a debt situation, with the help of his daughter, to be able to transfer the building to her in the context of a forced execution procedure ^{[ 161 ]} .

Rybolovlev has two luxury chalets in Switzerland, in Gstaad ^{[ twelfth ]} , a villa in Hawaii, an apartment located in the Moscow hotel in the Russian capital and a mansion on rue de l’Elysée, in Paris, with a view of the presidential palace, under the cover of SCI Ankatel ^{[ twelfth ]} , the latter having been sold later ^{[ 162 ]} . He was pursued up to 12 million Swiss francs by the American company to which he ordered a hammam at 31 million for his GSTAAD chalet ^{[ 163 ]} . The case ended in private arbitration ^{[ 164 ]} .

He also owns the Voentorg shopping center in Moscow.

In 2010, the Patriarch Cyrille de Moscow grants Rybolovlev the first degree of the Order of Saint Seraphine of Sarov for having financed the restoration of the cathedral of the Nativity of the Most Holy Mother of God in the Monastery of the Design of Moscow ^{[ 165 ]} .

Rybolovlev assigned part of his fortune to public projects important for the Russian state ^{[Ref. necessary]} :

In 2022, he announced, as well as AS Monaco, Cercle Bruges KSV and several companies in which the family trust is invested, donations to the Red Cross to help “the civilian populations who suffer from the armed conflict in Ukraine »» ^{[ 166 ]} .

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