Mikhael Mirilashvili

Mikhael Mirilashvili
Born (1960-05-01) May 1, 1960
Kulashi, Georgia
Residence Saint Petersburg, Russia and Israel
Education Saint Petersburg University
Occupation Businessman, Philanthropist
Net worth Increase $3 billion (2013)[1]
Children 2

Mikhael Mirilashvili (Georgian: მიხო მირილაშვილი, Hebrew: מיכאל מירילשוילי‎‎; born May 1960) is an Israeli-Georgian billionaire and philanthropist, based in Russia and Israel. Mirilashvili’s business enterprises operate primarily in the real estate, construction of shopping malls, casino chains, petroleum industry, diamond and renewable energy sectors, as well as in new media (VK.com). Mikhael is the president of the Saint Petersburg Jewish Congress.

Early life

Mirilashvili was born in May 1960 in Kulashi, a small town in Georgia. In 1977, he moved to St. Petersburg, then known as Leningrad. Originally trained as a mathematician. He qualified as a medical doctor from Saint-Petersburg University, and became a doctor, specializing in pediatrics. In the early 80s, Mirilashvili joined his family’s business, which was established by his father, Moshe Mikhael. By the mid-90s, Mirilashvili’s family had developed several real estate businesses across Russia, and expanded them beyond the borders of the commonwealth.[2]

Career

Mikhael Mirilashvili serves as the president of Petromir, a Russian holdings company, as well as director of Lukoil North West Petroleum. He also owns a television channel and numerous malls and commercial centers in St. Petersburg. Mirilashvili is also the president of CONTI, the largest gambling corporation in St. Petersburg with six casinos and other gambling venues. Mirilashvili established several companies in Israel in recent years, including Kitaim, a venture capital fund, as well as Flarium Global, Be’er Isaac Energy, and Hoshen Argaman.[3] The Mirilashvili family is one of the founders of Vkontakte, a Russian social network which they launched in 2006. They sold their shares in the company in 2013, receiving $1.12 billion for them.[4] Last year, the family also began to invest in gas drilling projects in Israel.[5]

Philanthropy

Mikhael Mirilashvili and his family donated to Rabbi Yitzchak Dovid Grossman’s “Migdalor” association. Mirilashvili also donated several Torah scrolls to different units in the IDF through the ‘Friends of the IDF’ and other associations.[6] He also contributed to the ZAKA delegation, serving as chairman for the International Board of Trustees.[7] After the fire crisis in the Carmel, Mirilashvili teamed up with Alexander Mashkevitch to create a fleet of fire-fighting vehicles,[8] and in 2012 he provided the planes for a delegation of doctors and paramedics who rushed to aid the victims of terror in Burges, Bulgaria.[9] Mirilashvili serves as president of the World Jewish Congress- St. Petersburg, as well as vice president of the Russian Jewish Congress,[10] first vice president of the Euro-Asian Jewish Congress,[11] president of the Maccabi Union in Russia[12] and president of the “Torah and Chessed” Center for Jews in Georgia.

Kidnapping incident

Mirilashvili's elderly father was kidnapped on a highway in August 2000 while driving in his Lexus LS, by a group pretending to be traffic police. The group was apparently unaware of who they had kidnapped and had not seen the logo of the family's casino company on the numberplate. A couple of days later, he was returned safely. Two weeks later, the dead bodies of those responsible for the kidnapping, along with their girlfriends and driver, were found dead near Isaakievsky square.[13]

Russian authorities arrested Mikhael Mirilashvili (the son) and charged him with kidnapping in March, 2001.[14] A group of well-known Russian figures including Andrei Petrov, Oleg Basilashvili, Mikhail Boyarsky and poet and singer Alexander Rosenbaum protested the City Prosecutor’s Office’s illegal methods of investigation applied in this case.[14] On August 1, 2003 The Leningrad District Military Court sentenced Mirilashvili to serve eight years in prison.[15] Mirilashvili stated that the testimony of court expert Sergei Koval was an act of revenge and should be thrown out because of his personal interest in the case. Koval’s wife, Tatyana, was asked to resign at the Mirilashvili-owned Conti group as a result of not doing her job properly.[15] While in prison, Mirilashvili fought the sentencing at the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, France. The court declared that the taking and examination of the evidence was done in an unfair manner and had not satisfied the requirements of a fair hearing.[16] [17] In 2009, Mirilashvili was released from prison and returned to Israel and Saint-Petersburg.


References

  1. ↑ The richest Israelis got NIS 10 billion richer in 2013 By Eytan Avriel, Jun. 5, 2013, Haaretz
  2. ↑ "The Incredible Story of a Georgian Billionaire" http://www.themarker.com/markets/1.1803026
  3. ↑ "On the Wealthiest Israelis" http://www.haaretz.com/business/.premium-1.527800
  4. ↑ The richest Israelis got NIS 10 billion richer in 2013 By Eytan Avriel, Jun. 5, 2013, Haaretz
  5. ↑ "On the Wealthiest Israelis" http://www.haaretz.com/business/.premium-1.527800
  6. ↑ "Torah for IDF Soldier Gilad Shalit" http://www.ynet.co.il/articles/0,7340,L-3744835,00.html
  7. ↑ "ZAKA Marks 10 Years" http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4144565,00.html
  8. ↑ "Alexander Mashkevich and Michael Mirilashvili to Create Specialty Vehicle Firefighting Brigade" http://eajc.org/page84/news20935.html
  9. ↑ "ZAKA Rescue Team Travels to Burgas" http://www.zaka.org.il/newsitem730
  10. ↑ "Personalities of Saint- Petersburg" http://ceo.spb.ru/eng/business/mirilashvili.m.m/
  11. ↑ "Michael Mirilashvili" http://eajc.org/page677
  12. ↑ "Personalities of Saint- Petersburg" http://ceo.spb.ru/eng/business/mirilashvili.m.m/
  13. ↑ Kommersant, № 17 (2147), 2/1/2001
  14. 1 2 Kaminskaya, Masha (February 2, 2001). "Prosecutors Formally Charge Mirilashvili". St. Petersburg Times. Retrieved 24 December 2013.
  15. 1 2 Kovalev, Vladimir (August 5, 2003). "Mirilashvili Handed 12-Year Jail Term". St. Petersburg Times. Retrieved 24 December 2013.
  16. ↑ "CASE OF MIRILASHVILI v. RUSSIA". The European Court of Human Rights. Retrieved 24 December 2013.
  17. ↑ "Mirilashvili v. Russia". Netherlands Institute of Human Rights. Retrieved 24 December 2013.
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