Ziyavudin Magomedov

Following his arrest, he remained imprisoned without trial in Lefortovo, the notoriously austere Moscow detention centre run by the FSB, Russia’s secret intelligence service. While in prison, the Russian criminal courts ordered the confiscation of his assets worth billions of dollars. At the same time, corporate raiders aided by elements with senior Russian government connections sought to unlawfully dismantle his business empire.

Some of his assets are now the subject of a claim in the UK and are estimated to have a value of at least $13.8 billion. Beyond that, Mr Magomedov held substantial additional assets, including grain terminals, that were expropriated and are understood to have fallen into the hands of well-connected figures in the Russian establishment. Since the conflict in Ukraine began, these assets have frequently been mentioned for their strategic importance to Russia’s war effort. Mr Magomedov reserves the right to pursue additional legal remedies in England (or elsewhere) in relation to these assets. Such a step could see the estimated value of his claims rise to at least $30 billion.

Following a trial behind closed doors in December 2022, Mr Magomedov was handed a 19-year jail sentence by a Moscow judge whose verdict uncritically endorsed the prosecution’s case. Mr Magomedov strongly denies any wrongdoing.