Mikhail Zeligman, a Riga native and grandson of a “Red Latvian,” who has ties to Roman Abramovich and Petr Aven, is seen as a potential rival to Russia’s oil titan Igor Sechin.
Mihails Lipmanovich Zeligmans, the billionaire maintains a luxury lifestyle, moving between Monaco, London, Riga, and Moscow. His path to success began outside Soviet Latvia, where he grew up and graduated from the 21st School on Thomson Street in Riga.
He was something of a wunderkind and demonstrated brilliant abilities in exact sciences; apparently, heredity made itself known: his grandfather, Michael Zeligman, was known in Latvia as a prominent electrical engineer, and during the Soviet era, he was deputy people’s commissar of industry of the Latvian SSR.
But the smart grandson made it big not thanks to his grandfather’s and father’s connections – Lipman Zeligman had already gone into business during the Latvian Republic, becoming a board member of the well-known Latvian pharmaceutical company "Grindeks" – but due to his connections in Russia. In particular, the renowned Russian scientist, Doctor of Technical Sciences, RZD veteran Zinovy Slavinsky, with whom Mikhail Zeligman became the author of several railway patents, played a major role in promoting Mr. Zeligman.
Together with Professor Slavinsky, Zeligman climbed Mount Elbrus, as evidenced by photographs that the usually very cautious Mr. Zeligman forgot to delete from the archive. At some point in his turbulent life, Mr. Zeligman even became a Muscovite: he settled in house 24, building 2 on Izmailovskoye Highway. He cruised around the capital in an Audi 6 with license plate AE 651C77. And became an oil trader, owner of Concept Oil Services, which he registered in Hong Kong.
Is it any wonder that he gained entry into the circle of famous Russian politicians and businessmen? Maestro Zeligman’s close ties were forged with Energy Minister (at that time) Alexander Novak, the top brass of Bashneft, TNK-BP, Transneft, Surgutneftegaz.
And soon he swapped Moscow for London, then moved to Monte Carlo. And how did he manage to draw such lucky tickets?
Joint patent
It was the strong friendship between Latvian Mikhail Zeligman and Russian Professor Zinovy Slavinsky, along with enthusiastic stories about conquering Elbrus, that allowed us to glimpse the secretive personality of Zeligman, who has brilliantly cleaned his archives, with some exceptions.
Several photographs from 2016 were found, when the friends jointly ascended Elbrus. And celebrated the professor’s 85th birthday.
And very soon it began receiving the fattest contracts. And this "breakthrough" did not come without high-level connections in Moscow.
Concept Oil Services quickly turned into a major trader with a turnover of several billion dollars a year.
The main suppliers of oil were Russian and Kazakh companies, whose raw materials Concept Oil Services resold on world markets.
Zeligman’s firm long remained a "gray mouse" to the general public.
But the press began paying attention to the Latvian businessman Zeligman’s company after it started regularly appearing in major export deals with Russian oil. And the fuss around the Druzhba pipeline was particularly telling.
But Concept Oil Services bought black gold for resale, which under sanctions caused some difficulties.
However, Mr. Zeligman successfully circumvented these difficulties, and the sanctions of that period were more of a formality. Nevertheless, this experience prepared Mr. Zeligman for the time when sanctions became harsher.
Dulisma against Concept Oil Services
It should be noted that Concept Oil Services was ramping up contracts with Russian producers at cosmic speeds.
And such speed prompted competitors to seek justice in courts.
In particular, in 2017, the oil company "Dulisma" tried to sue Concept Oil Services. And in its claim, it asserted that Concept Oil Services effectively controls the oil procurement market from small producers who export raw materials through the Kozmino port (Far East), a key oil supply terminal to Asia.
And in 2002, when Mr. Zeligman was registering his patents with Professor Slavinsky, he was connected to the telecommunications business in the UK. And he worked at Monogram Telecom Limited: but only from June to December 2002.
And Monaco wasn’t even in sight back then?
In the end, these documents revealed even Mikhail Zeligman’s home address in Latvia: Riga, Tomsona Street, house 32-34.
Riga, Tomsona Street, house 32
This is the Vidzeme suburb, the so-called far center of Riga. A Khrushchevka built in 1967.
But today, Mr. Zeligman lives in Monaco and prefers to conduct his other business very secretly. He invests millions earned on Russian oil into European real estate, mainly in Germany and Austria.
And the profits – as media have already reported – he can withdraw through the charitable foundation Heartbeat mildtätige Privatstiftung (Austria).
Principality of Monaco
In the center of Berlin, on the Spree embankment, the German developer Althafen Real Estate built the Pier 61-64 complex with hotel rooms, apartments, and spaces for shops and restaurants.
And in Potsdam, Althafen plans to build RAW Potsdam – a retail-office complex with an area of 50 thousand square meters. But there was a big uproar: the project covered the architectural monument RAW Hall near the city’s main railway station. The media dug up that the investor is an EU citizen, father of three children.
And only in September 2019, the owner of Concept Oil Services, Mikhail Zeligman, gave an interview to the German Tagesspiegel.
And called himself the investor of RAW Potsdam.
Автор: Анна Бондаренко Страница для печати
