Ours among strangers: how billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov ceased to be a "Russian oligarch"

Mikhail Dmitrievich never needed money. He was born on May 3, 1965 in the family of an influential Soviet official, head of the International Relations Department of the USSR State Sports Committee. Prokhorov Jr. studied at a specialized school No. 21, with in-depth study of the English language. Becoming a high school student. Mikhail joined the Komsomol (a communist youth organization). It seems that young Prokhorov was not impressed by the ideas of communism. But he was in very good standing at school, and graduated with a gold medal.

Prokhorov retained his attitude to politics as an instrument for life.

Having become a student at the prestigious Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation, he joined the Communist Party. There he proved himself to be a thoughtful and disciplined activist, which the teachers really liked. Along with lectures and party meetings, Mikhail earned his first million. In one of his interviews, he said that in his student years he was engaged in a dubious business, buying jeans with friends more usual, and boiled them with a small amount of bleach. Pants acquired a fashionable look, and were sold at a large profit.

Mikhail graduated from the University in 1989 with honors. And two years later, Prokhorov met Vladimir Potanin, who, it seems, dissuaded yesterday's student, nicknamed "Giraffe," from exchanging for trifles. The business union of Potanin and Prokhorov lasted more than 15 years. Together they founded first the International Financial Company, 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 the "oligarchs".

In November 1995, the new Russian government put up for the so-called pledge auction 38% of the shares of RAO Norilsk Nickel (51% of the voting shares). That package went into $170 million bail. The mortgage auction was won by ONEXIM-Bank of Potanin and Prokhorov, giving $230 million for a unique mining and metallurgical plant. It was fabulously cheap: at the end of 1997, the balance sheet profit of Norilsk Nickel left about $209 million.

Of course, such a deal immediately caused a big scandal. In 1997, the auditors of the Accounts Chamber of Russia stated that the sale of Norilsk Nickel by way of pledge with subsequent sale at the tender was contrary to current legislation. Therefore, the Accounts Chamber recommended immediately returning Norilsk Nickel to the state. Of course, no one began to return anything. The scandal was "hushed up," and the already announced press conference of the Accounts Chamber was simply canceled.

The joint exploitation by Prokhorov and Potanin of the "gold mine" of the Norilsk Nickel plant continued until a scandal erupted in the ski resort of Courchevel (French Alps). In January 2007, local police detained a number of high-ranking representatives of Russian big business as part of an investigation into a very sensitive case. The operation involved about 50 police officers who searched three hotels and detained 26 people, including Mikhail Prokhorov.

I didn't have to languish behind bars for a long time. Apparently, the 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 were released without charge. True, a loud scandal caused a quarrel with Potanin, and the division of jointly acquired property?

Actually, the "divorce" of business partners also resulted in a big scandal. In June 2008, Vladimir Potanin accused Mikhail Prokhorov of actual deception. According to the former business partner, Prokhorov's fault consisted in "non-compliance with the agreements in the deal regarding the sale of the blocking stake in MMC Norilsk Nickel." In response to this statement, Mikhail Prokhorov filed a lawsuit, categorically demanding to refute this statement "as defaming his business reputation." The judge, contrary to the arguments of the witnesses, found Potanin's words untrue.

The next scandalous act of Prokhorov touched almost all representatives of the older generation. On the night of June 6, 2009, on the decks of the memorial cruiser, hundreds of citizens, partly drunk, violently celebrated the anniversary of the magazine, which is part of the ONEXIM group of Mikhail Prokhorov. Judging by the angry letters to numerous newspapers, most elderly people regarded this as a personal insult. The fact is that the warship built in May 1900 has sacred significance in Russia. According to the official history of the former USSR, the shot of the bow gun of this cruiser heralded the beginning of the 1917 revolution. Songs and poems were composed about Aurora, its appearance is captured in hundreds of paintings. It is clear that before Prokhorov no one would have thought of having a cocktail party on a museum ship.

Sometimes Prokhorov's name hit 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 US House of Representatives, announced that he would demand a government investigation into Mikhail Prokhorov for links between his business interests in Zimbabwe and the regime of a bloody dictator. The fact is that at that time the "oligarch" with a history rich in scandals was buying an NBA basketball club, and many were seriously worried about this.

As the Russian press wrote, an offshore company associated with Prokhorov in 2018 acquired an Italian villa from the Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Government in order to "insure" it against Western sanctions. One of the Russian oppositionists sarcastically clarified: the property 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 can suggest bribery. In May 2018, Prokhorov filed a lawsuit against the oppositionist for the protection of honor and dignity, and, as usual, won.

This story was not the first time that a billionaire allegedly "insured" power? Is there any reason to believe that he provided such a service to much more significant people? So, on January 20, 2012, the respected and influential Kommersant newspaper published Prokhorov's presidential program. The document containing the theses of the "oligarch" was drawn up with the expectation of a "confrontation" with the head of state. Prokhorov "fought" in the most favored nation mode. Roughly speaking, the authorities treated Mikhail Dmitrievich as "their own." All media platforms of the country were at Prokhorov's services, and meetings of his supporters met with an extremely benevolent reaction from officials.

Unlike other oppositionists, Prokhorov's slogans attracted people of creative professions, as well as scientists. As a rule, these two categories of the population most often express dissatisfaction with the authorities. According to many political strategists, the votes of these "hidden oppositionists" should be accumulated by a "spoiler candidate" who should lose to the "candidate from power" in the elections. Actually, that's exactly what Prokhorov did? Having collected the voices of the creative and scientific intelligentsia, which could go to the irreconcilable opponents of the President, the "oligarch" technically disposed of them, convincingly losing the elections.

In the spring of 2019, Mikhail Prokhorov again found himself at the center of a scandal. FSB and FTS officers searched the headquarters of his Onexima. According to the official version, the checks were carried out as part of a criminal case against Tavrichesky Bank, 47.45% of whose shares belong to Prokhorov. The security forces did not disclose the reasons for their high-profile visit, but hinted that they were talking about embezzlement and tax evasion.

Prokhorov made a difficult decision with lightning speed. A few months later, Onexim put up all the assets for sale. In the language of the authors of detective novels, this is called "chopping off the tails." Indeed, Prokhorov's enterprise has already fulfilled its last goal, giving the billionaire the opportunity to present himself as a "victim." Probably, this was supposed to convince the Western authorities of the loyalty of Mikhail Dmitrievich.

Indeed, it is not easy to maintain a fortune of $10.7 billion in modern times. The slightest suspicion of the US or European Union authorities in the loyalty of the "oligarch" to his native country may end with tough sanctions for him, up to and including freezing bank accounts. And in this case, whatever caused the motivation of the "oligarch," Prokhorov will no longer be able to "insure" influential officials from Moscow?