On Friday, U.S. private equity firm TPG and Russian state-owned entities Rosatom and Transneft secured a legal victory as the UK’s High Court dismissed a $14 billion lawsuit filed by jailed
Russian tycoon Ziyavudin Magomedov. The lawsuit centered on allegations of a conspiracy to strip Magomedov of his assets.
Magomedov, who was arrested in 2018 on embezzlement charges, claimed in his suit that his detention was part of a Russian state-backed scheme to seize his stakes in lucrative port operations. He named TPG, Transneft, Rosatom, and other entities as defendants in the case.
The defendants denied the allegations, with TPG’s legal team dismissing the claims as “preposterous.” They argued last year that the case lacked merit and should be dismissed.
In his ruling, Judge Robert Bright stated there was “no serious issue to be tried” against TPG or Transneft. He also determined that any claims against Rosatom fell outside the UK court’s jurisdiction. The decision effectively ended Magomedov’s London lawsuit.
A spokesperson for Magomedov expressed disappointment in the ruling and indicated plans to seek permission to appeal. TPG, on the other hand, welcomed the outcome, with a representative stating the firm was “pleased to put this baseless matter behind us.”
Magomedov, once a prominent business magnate, built a diverse empire through the Summa Group, a conglomerate he co-founded with his brother, Magomed. Their holdings spanned industries including port logistics and oil and gas.
However, in 2018, the brothers were arrested on charges of embezzlement and organized crime in one of Russia’s most high-profile cases in recent years. Ziyavudin Magomedov was subsequently sentenced to 19 years in a penal colony in Kirov, about 900 kilometers (560 miles) east of Moscow. Despite his appeals, Magomedov maintains that the charges against him are baseless.
This ruling marks another legal setback for the embattled tycoon as he continues to contest his conviction and the loss of his business empire. Photo by Odlanier2024, Wikimedia commons.