Rinat Akhmetov

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Rinat Akhmetov Рінат Ахметов
Born	September 21, 1966 (age 40) Donetsk, Ukraine
Occupation	Business oligarch
Political party	Party of Regions
Religious belief	Islam
Spouse	Liliya Nikolayevna Smirnova
Children	Almir Akhmetov (1988) Damir Akhmetov(1997)

Rinat Leonidovich Akhmetov (Ukrainian: Рінат Леонідович Ахметов) (born September 21, 1966) is the richest Ukrainian business oligarch; his fortune is estimated at $11.8 billion. Akhmetov's main source of industrial capital is his company, SCM Holdings (90% of stocks owned by him and 10% by spouse). He also owns the Shakhtar Donetsk football club. Akhmetov is of Tatar descent.

Rinat Akhmetov is considered to be an informal business and political leader of Ukraine's Donbas region. Many perceive him as the leader of local organized crime ([1], [2], [3], [4]), although he has never been convicted or charged with a crime (unlike former business associates Ahat Bragin and Samson, both assassinated in the 1990s).

Akhmetov has played an important role in the 2004 presidential election as a sponsor of Viktor Yanukovych.

[edit] Recent changes in biography

Akhmetov was summoned by police to appear for questioning on 15 July 2005, but failed to appear, stating he was out of the country for holidays and business. Although he has since met with police and been cleared of suspicions of wrongdoing.

In the 2006 election, Rinat Akhmetov was running for the Ukrainian parliament within the list of Viktor Yanukovych's Party of Regions and on 26 March 2006 has become a member of it.

In January 2006, answering the chat question, Yanukovych admitted that Akhmetov could once be a presidential candidate of the Party of Regions.

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

Ukraine’s business elite eager to shed murky reputation (January 2006 Kyiv Post article about Akhmetov's efforts to improve own corporate image)
Poor Little Akhmetov (Ukrayinska Pravda analyzing the business ventures of Akhmetov in August 2005) (Ukrainian)
The Godson (July 2005 journalist investigation of the Akhmetov's early (allegedly criminal) career) (Russian)
Lutsenko: There Are Several Criminal Cases on Companies Linked to Akhmetov (Police Minister's June 2005 interview) (Ukrainian)