The collapse of Telman Ismailov’s empire was a foregone conclusion back in 2006. It was then that the businessman turned to the Bank of Moscow to obtain a loan for his commercial structures. At that time, the co-owner and president of the bank was Andrei Borodin, who is now on the wanted list. Ismailov needed more than $200 million, which the banker provided to the businessman. Three large assets of Telman Ismailov acted as collateral: the Prague restaurant on Arbat, a shopping center in Izmailovo with an area of 20 thousand square meters and a trade and office center on Krasnaya Presnya with an area of just over 15 thousand square meters.
Each of these objects was valued by the bank at just over 2 billion rubles. At the then dollar exchange rate, all these assets covered the cost of the loan three times. Subsequently, from 2006 to 2010, the loan paid off $50 million in principal and about $70 million in interest.
In 2010, Telman Ismailov started having problems. The authorities closed the Cherkizovsky market, which brought great income to their owner. Moreover, according to information from the businessman’s employees, Ismailov rented out premises at the market, but he himself had no greater interest here. At the same time, various materials about market activities began to appear in the media. According to some information, prostitution, arms and drug trafficking were widespread here. Also, reports were sometimes full of entire underground cities that were located on the territory of Cherkizon, and where illegal workers lived.
In principle, we are not trying to dissuade readers of this. But if we take it in essence, then in any large market you can find a sufficient number of illegal transactions. They knew about Cherkizon before, but for some reason no one bothered to close it when Ismailov’s business was flourishing. Now, after a series of publications and the involvement of law enforcement agencies, the market was closed. Immediately, problems began for Ismailov’s structures; the business lost its most profitable business. And it was during this period of time that the bank demanded that Ismailov repay the loan or carry out a restructuring.
Restructuring of the Bank of Moscow
Since there was not so much money due to the closure of the Cherkizovsky market, Ismailov’s lawyers offered the bank to pay interest. And the main debt was supposed to begin to be repaid later. The total debt to the Bank of Moscow at that time was $185 million. Then both parties came to a consensus - to restructure the loan. The main condition of the bank was a change of founders in all three objects that were pledged. The new founder was the Belyaevsky Companies company, created in an offshore zone, where apart from these three objects there was nothing else. That is, the company was prepared specifically for this “project” of restructuring.
Then it was decided to sell the business center on Krasnaya Presnya and the shopping center in Izmailovo. Through the joint efforts of the structures of Telman Ismailov and the Bank of Moscow, they found a buyer who was willing to pay $150 million for the objects. The buyer even transferred 10 percent of this amount as an advance.
If the deal had taken place, then Ismailov’s total debt would have remained only 35 million, which his structures could have been guaranteed to pay. However, banker Andrei Borodin began to have his own problems, and he was forced to flee the country, since a criminal case was opened against him regarding a loan issued by the bank Premier Estate CJSC. Completely different people took over the leadership of the Bank of Moscow. VTB Bank announced that the Bank of Moscow will become part of it. The deal to sell assets serving as collateral fell apart. The buyer even had to sue the bank because they did not want to return the $15 million he had paid as an advance.
Raider seizure
As it turned out, both banks were interested in one of Ismailov’s properties - the Prague restaurant. Because of this, bankers did not even consider the option of selling it to pay off the debt. Although there were plenty of people willing to buy Prague. There are businessmen who are ready to pay more than half a billion dollars for this asset. Moreover, everyone wants to establish something of their own in this place. For example, in this ancient mansion, very conveniently located, one of the Arab countries wanted to establish its embassy.
After the Bank of Moscow came under the jurisdiction of VTB, Ismailov was made to understand that there would be no friendly relations between them. In June 2014, people with security arrived at all three collateral sites. Among them were young people who said that from now on they were the new directors. As it turned out, Belyaevsky Companies simply changed some documents and changed management at business facilities. Has begun .
However, Telman Ismailov’s management understood that essentially they could not do anything about it - all three objects were pledged. Therefore, we tried to negotiate with the management of VTB that the bank could sell the properties, and proceed based on the amount received. If the sale amount was higher than Ismailov’s debt to VTB, then subtract the remainder of the debt from this amount, and transfer the remaining money to Telman Ismailov’s structures. Or vice versa, if this money was not enough to cover the debt, then Ismailov would pay the rest and close the debt.
Telman Ismailov went to that meeting in person. He met with VTB Deputy President, Andrei Puchkov, who said that the maximum that collateral properties could cost is $33 million, despite the fact that Prague alone costs about 500 million.
At that time, including interest, Telman Ismailov owed the bank more than $200 million. Therefore, 33 million did not save his situation in any way. After that meeting, claims were filed against Telman Ismailov to collect the entire amount of the debt, since he personally was the guarantor for this loan. That is, having taken away the multimillion-dollar assets that were pledged, the bank once again files claims against the businessman, with an even larger amount, thanks to accrued interest. Telman Ismailov lost three objects, and still owes money.
All the courts that subsequently took place in this case were on the side of the bankers. Even when Telman Ismailov initiated bankruptcy proceedings because he could not pay the required amounts, the court did not take into account any of the businessman’s arguments.
Having taken all three objects, VTB receives quite impressive sums from at least two of them. This is a shopping and office center on Krasnaya Presnya and a shopping center in Izmailovo. Each facility generates a monthly income of 30 million rubles. With this money, according to Telman Ismailov’s structures, the bank is fighting against them. In fact, with the help of a loan, a raider takeover took place, which has happened so often in the last decade.
It is obvious that this entire scheme was launched by specific individuals. The bank cannot exist as a single organism. Behind all decisions are people who, thanks to their position, decide what to do in each specific situation.
A new episode unexpectedly appeared in the criminal prosecution of the former owner of the Cherkizovsky market Telman Ismailov. Unexpected, because we are talking about events 14 years ago. Pop singer Abraham Russo told the Investigative Committee that in 2004 he was allegedly kidnapped by Telman Ismailov. Why the singer remained silent all these years is unclear. But there is an assumption why right now the law enforcement officers so zealously took on the prominent businessman of the “Luzhkov era”.
By the way, I was kidnapped!
Everything happens in life. Some kind of trouble happens to a person, at first he worries, but then happily forgets. And now, 14 years later, he suddenly remembers again and goes to complain to investigators. Apparently, this is exactly what happened to the singer Abraham Russo, once famous in Russia (who didn’t sing the catchy lines “I know that I’ll lose you soon”), and now almost forgotten. So, the performer came to the Investigative Committee and stated that in 2004 he was kidnapped and beaten. And this was done by his former patron, businessman and ex-owner of the capital’s Cherkizovsky market (better known as “Cherkizon”) Telman Ismailov and his nephew, former general director of the Prague restaurant Zaur Mardanov.
Telman Ismailov actually once financed the pop career of Abraham Russo, but then a conflict arose between them. And then, in the winter of 2004, the businessman seemed to have a criminal intent. The singer was invited to have dinner at the Prague restaurant (who doesn’t remember this famous establishment, which in the glamorous years of the 2000s became the center of attraction for the capital’s elite?!), and then Ismailov invited Abraham to his office. There, together with Mardanov, the businessman struck Russo on the head and torso, thereby suppressing his “will to resist.” They confiscated his mobile phone and took him to Ismailov’s dacha in Aprelevka, near Moscow. There, Abraham Russo was kindly asked to collaborate with the entrepreneur again and give concerts only for him and his entourage. The singer, who had lost his will, agreed and was released.
It’s funny that, according to the media, the pop singer wrote a statement to the Investigative Committee on September 17, 2018. And this time the valiant law enforcement officers showed themselves in all their glory. They did not tell Russo the classic phrase “when they kill you, then come,” but worked all night, and at 4:30 in the morning they already opened a criminal case. And after another hour and a half, the security forces were already at home Zaura Mardanova. Unfortunately for the investigators, it is not possible to come to Telmon Ismailov himself, since for the sake of peace and health he has not lived in Russia for a long time. And Mardanov was detained, confronted with the applicant, that is, with Russo, and the very next day the Investigative Committee asked the court to arrest the nephew of the former owner of Cherkizon. And although this story may become a drama for him, for obvious reasons it cannot help but make him smile. And it simply demands to understand why everything happened this way.
He "had it all"
During the reign Yuri Luzhkov It was even difficult to imagine that something would soon go wrong in the life of Telman Ismailov. He had everything that most residents not only of Russia, but also of the world dream of: a business that brought him fabulous wealth, excellent capital real estate and, most importantly, the patronage of the Moscow mayor, one of the most powerful people in Russia. But everything in this life passes. The Cherkizovsky market was demolished, Luzhkov was fired with the wording “loss of trust,” and after that Ismailov’s business somehow didn’t work out. Yes, this is not surprising. It is one thing to own a semi-criminal market, taking advantage of the friendship of the mayor, and quite another to conduct normal business, building a real business that benefits people and its owner.
As the media learned, the nephew of the former owner of the Cherkizovsky market in Moscow, Telman Ismailov, Zaur Mardanov, was arrested for two months in connection with charges of kidnapping singer Abraham Russo in 2004.
And last year, Telman Ismailov was completely accused of murdering two businessmen near Moscow. According to investigators, Telman's brother Rafik He owned a shopping and entertainment center with one of them. And then, after selling the share, he did not return several million dollars. Well, at the same time I decided to kill, and my brother organized the crime. The perpetrator of the murder is already in prison, and Telman Ismailov is on the international wanted list. According to some reports, he is hiding in France. We will not comment on this mysterious story; the investigation and the court know better. But besides this trouble, the businessman has another one: he owes a lot of money in Russia. And this is a very serious circumstance.
Your own creditor
When the then President of Russia Dmitry Medvedev fired patron Ismailov Yuri Luzhkov From the post of mayor, the businessman, as we already mentioned, did not do well. And to correct them, he began borrowing a lot of money, refinancing old loans, spending money on new projects, like building a luxury hotel in Turkey, which, according to him, cost a billion dollars. By the way, the hotel eventually had to be sold for only 124 million in American currency. Bank loans are good because they provide money that can be spent on something. And the bad thing is that sooner or later this money will have to be returned. Telman Ismailov made a different decision. He did not return the funds, and as a result, he began to go bankrupt. And he borrowed money from very serious people and structures. The main creditors are the businessman Sergey Yanchukov(owner of the Mongazeya group) and the state-owned bank VTB, which is controlled with an iron fist Andrey Kostin.
They, of course, won the courts and even took away part of Ismailov’s assets, for example, the same Prague restaurant. But if you look at the cost of this and other buildings, it is only tens of millions. But only from VTB, or rather from the Bank of Moscow, the businessman took almost $200 million, after which he successfully transferred part of the money to an offshore company, simultaneously transferring the assets to relatives. And what was later sued from him turned out to be not so valuable. VTB recently failed to sell the same restaurant “Prague”; there were no people willing to buy the capital’s landmark. But the main thing is not even this, but the fact that in the course of attempts to bankrupt Ismailov, he found new, previously unknown creditors. And as the Vedomosti newspaper found out, they could be connected with the businessman himself. If so, then the scheme is simple: he borrows money from himself, that is, he keeps it for himself, and others get nothing. If journalists found out about this, then it is clearly not a secret for real creditors either. And to behave this way according to all “conceptual” laws is very ugly.
Relative, drive away the ruble!
In no case do I want to connect the criminal cases against Telman Ismailov and his complex relationship with creditors. But here’s an interesting statement made by the lawyer of his nephew Zaur Mardanov Alexey Smirnov at trial. He noticed that the relatives of the former marketeer, who unfortunately remained in Russia, were systematically being subjected to criminal charges. And the lawyer believes that the main target of the investigators is Telman Ismailov himself. From this statement it can be assumed that, according to the lawyer, criminal cases against his relatives are pressure on the businessman. But for what purpose, of course, is unknown.
Well, that is, it is known that serious crimes have been committed, murder, kidnapping, etc. Investigators have the task of uncovering them and punishing the culprit. But who knows, maybe Ismailov’s entourage will be asked a few more exciting questions, for example, related to the financial affairs of the suspect. However, this is just a version. But if this is all part of a big game, then the popular singer Abraham Russo Only the role of backing vocals is assigned in it. But the bruises inflicted on him by Thälmann and his nephew healed within 14 years. Has his will to resist been restored? We certainly cannot answer this question.
Originally from Baku. His father was a merchant, and Thalmann has been working with him since the age of 14. At the age of 18, he became the director of the only commercial store in Baku.
In the 1980s, Ismailov moved to Moscow and got a job as an economist at the Ministry of Trade, and then went to work as an expert at Vostokintorg (All-Union Association for Trade with Eastern Countries). He meets Yuri Luzhkov, who at that time served as chairman of the Moscow City Executive Committee commission on cooperative activities. Twenty years later, already being the mayor of the capital, Luzhkov will congratulate Ismailov on his fiftieth birthday with the words: “Telman! You are our brother! We walk with you through life!” Ismailov also had friendly relations with the former vice-mayor of Moscow, Joseph Ordzhonikidze.
In 1989, Telman Ismailov opened his first Moscow business - he registered the AST group. The abbreviation consists of the first letters of the names of the owners - a businessman and his two sons: Alekper-Sarkhan-Telman. AST started with clothing trade. In the first year of operation, she opened 52 commercial stores in Moscow - no one had done this before in the city.
The group began to grow. A few years later, it included dozens of companies in various fields: hotel business (AST-Gof), construction (AST-Kapstroy), publishing (AST-Moscow Printing House), transport (AST-TransService "), jewelry business ("AST-Gold"). Ismailov owned the Moscow restaurant "Prague" on Arbat, the department store "Voentorg", as well as the famous wholesale markets - Luzhniki and Cherkizovsky.
It became Ismailov’s main capital. In 2006, Cherkizon was the largest center for small-scale wholesale clothing trade in terms of turnover in the European part of Russia, and Ismailov himself in 2007 took 76th place in the Forbes list with a fortune of $260 million.
Protection of domestic producers
According to unofficial data, Cherkizovsky was inhabited by 100 thousand inhabitants. In 2006, an explosion occurred in the market. As a result of the terrorist attack, 14 people were killed and 61 were injured. The investigation established that the explosion was organized by members of the nationalist organization “Spas” in order to “stop the influx of immigrants.”
Chinese smuggling, illegal immigrants, prostitution - Cherkizon existed in such conditions for more than 20 years. Mass market checks began after the arrest of a large consignment of smuggled goods at the warehouses of the AST company. In 2009, the market was publicly criticized by Prime Minister Vladimir Putin: “As for smuggling, goods worth more than $2 billion are worth in one of the markets.” After this the market was closed.
The official reason was a violation of sanitary standards. The government stated that closing the market was a measure to protect domestic producers: traders at Cherkizon did not pay taxes and “stifled” local production. “Every point on the Cherkizovsky market meant a stopped workshop in Russia,” said Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Stanislav Naumov then.
After the closure of Cherkizon, Ismailov went to live in Turkey. There, two months before the market closed, he built the seven-star Mardan Palace hotel, named after his father: a portrait of Mardan Ismailov hangs on the ground floor of the hotel. The Süddeutsche Zeitung newspaper rated it as “the most expensive hotel on the continent”: the cost is $1.4 billion. Gold leaf, crystal jewelry, Italian marble were used for its construction, and the sand for the beach near the hotel was specially delivered from Egypt.
There is a zoo and singing fountains on the territory. The opening ceremony was attended not only by Hollywood stars - Sharon Stone and Monica Bellucci, but also by Moscow Deputy Mayor Yuri Luzhkov.
Vladimir Putin also paid attention to the hotel. He said that he did not see any crime in Ismailov’s construction of a hotel in Turkey, but hinted that it would be nice to create the same projects in Russia, for example, in Sochi for the Olympics. In response, Telman Ismailov signed an agreement with the Olimpstroy corporation in 2010 to build hotels in Sochi worth $800 million. However, no money was found, and the construction of Olympic facilities had to be abandoned.
Unsustainable loans
Things got worse for Ismailov after the closure of the Cherkizovsky market. He took out more and more loans to pay off old debts. He was helped by BM-Bank (Bank of Moscow) and the Mangazeya structures of Sergei Yanchukov. When the banks demanded the money back, the businessman began to hide it. In 2014, Telman Ismailov transferred his companies to his sons Alekper and Sarkhan and nephew Zaur Mardanov in order to escape from creditors.
At the same time, Ismailov organized the withdrawal of funds abroad: he used $8 million to purchase a shopping center. Another scheme is to bankrupt yourself. He took out new loans from fictitious organizations registered under his acquaintances. It was supposed to work like this: in bankruptcy, the seized property is divided among creditors in proportion to the amount of debt. If the debt to “their” organizations exceeds the debt to the Bank of Moscow, then the bank gets pennies, and all property is returned to the owner.
However, in the end, the court declared Ismailov bankrupt, and creditors took all the businessman’s assets. VTB received the Prague restaurant, AST and Tropicano shopping centers. A shopping center in the United States was also seized following a suit from the Bank of Moscow. A luxurious mansion overlooking Skolkovo went, according to Rosreestr, to the Settlement and Credit Bank, owned by the family of State Duma deputy Vakha Agayev.
The famous Mardan Palace was also sold for debts in 2015. A Turkish bank bought the hotel at auction for $124 million, although its cost was estimated at $248 million. It was in 2015 that Ismailov was last included in the Forbes list. Then the magazine estimated his fortune at $600 million. In March 2017, the Arbitration Court of the Moscow Region, by its decision, began the sale of his property.
Passion for luxury
The businessman became famous for his passion for luxury. The media write that he flew to a party in Nice on a gold-plated plane, gave singer Nikolai Baskov a villa in Turkey for his birthday, and his collection of wristwatches numbers more than 2 thousand pieces.
Telman Ismailov’s friends include not only representatives of show business. He also has friendly relations with the head of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov. The businessman himself admitted in an interview with the Azerbaijani publication Haqqin.az that in difficult times, Kadyrov asked Putin for him: “Yes, I have a very good relationship with Ramzan Kadyrov. Not only he asked, but also many other people in the highest elite of Russia.”
Back in 2010, after a visit to Chechnya, Ismailov agreed to sponsor the local football club Terek (now Akhmat). At the same time, the president of the club, Ramzan Kadyrov, appointed Sarkhan Ismailov, the son of a businessman, as vice-president of Terek. Ismailov’s children, like their father, are famous for their passion for a luxurious life. Both sons studied and lived in Switzerland. There, according to the media, they were witnesses in the case of an accident. Four Russians staged a race in expensive cars, as a result of which a pensioner was injured. Ismailov's sons were driving the Bugatti Veyron and Mercedes McLaren, Swiss police reported.
According to eyewitnesses, the President of Uzbekistan arrived in Antalya for the wedding of the businessman’s eldest son, Alekper Ismailov, and presented the newlyweds with a helicopter. Alekper Ismailov still owns a share of 37.5% of the AST group of companies.
Now various banks are trying to declare him bankrupt. In September of this year, National Standard Bank filed a lawsuit against Ismailov Jr.
The youngest son Sarkhan studied at the University of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation. He also owns 37.5% of the AST group of companies and is also experiencing financial difficulties. Sarkhan Ismailov's Rolls Royce was seized for debts from the Mardan Palace hotel. Another 25% of AST belongs to Telman Ismailov’s nephew, Zaur Mardanov.
Searches at Ismailov's place
When in the fall of 2017, security forces descended on Telman Ismailov with searches at 12 addresses, the media put forward different versions of what was happening. The priority was that the searches were related to fraud against one of the banks. According to another version, the businessman was searched because of the murder of two businessmen.
Telman's brother is accused of shooting the owner of shopping complexes Vladimir Savkin and the founder of Lyublino-Motors Yuri Brilev. Our source reported back then that the searches at Telman Ismailov’s place were connected precisely with this case. The same version was put forward by the businessman’s lawyer.
The double murder was committed in May 2016 in the Moscow region. Rafik Ismailov is now in custody, he has been charged under the article “Murder of two or more persons.” According to the Investigative Committee, the motive for the shooting could have been a financial dispute between Rafik Ismailov and his business partner Savkin.
Ismailov and Savkin were co-owners of a large shopping and entertainment center in Moscow. According to the investigation, Rafik Ismailov sold the business and took all the money for himself. In order not to repay the $5.5 million debt to Savkin, he ordered his former partner, the investigation suggests. The founder of Lyublino Motors, Brilev, could have become an accidental victim - he witnessed the attack.
He eventually took all the blame upon himself and was recently convicted and received 13 years in prison.
Telman Ismailov’s second brother, Vagif, a former officer of the Main Criminal Investigation Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, is also involved in this case and is wanted. In April last year, it was reported that Telman Ismailov had also become a defendant in the investigation into contract killings: an arrested member of the group gave evidence against him. They are talking not about two, but about eight murders.
Telman Mardanovich Ismailov is a Russian entrepreneur of Azerbaijani origin, who also has Turkish citizenship. He was the owner of the Cherkizovsky market in Moscow and is the founder of the famous AST group.
Telman Ismailov began his biography in 1956 in the city of Baku and became the tenth of twelve children in the family. His father was Azerbaijani by origin, and his mother, in addition, also had Jewish roots. Mardan Ismailov was engaged in trade, and he worked hard and with amazing diligence, which is why he constantly needed helpers. Already at the age of 14, Telman began not just to help, but to work full-time with his father, and soon became the director of the first and only commercial store in Baku at that time.
In 1973, Ismailov entered the Baku Institute of National Economy, but after compulsory military service he transferred to a similar educational institution - the Moscow Institute of National Economy named after Georgy Plekhanov. By assignment, the young man works as an economist at the Ministry of Trade, and later as an expert at Vostokintorg. Then he met, who at that time worked as the chairman of the commission of the Moscow City Executive Committee. And 20 years later, already being the mayor of Moscow, Luzhkov will personally congratulate Ismailov on his anniversary with the words: “Telmann! You are our brother! We walk with you through life!”.
When the enterprise was launched, businessman Telman Ismailov asked Turkey to give him a second citizenship, and this request was granted.
However, in November 2015, the public learned that ownership of the Mardan Palace hotel was transferred to the Turkish bank Halkbank through an auction sale, since the Russian entrepreneur had a lot of debts to Turkish companies. Today Telman Ismailov is not among the richest people in the country. In 2015, he was officially declared bankrupt by the Moscow Region Arbitration Court, and the shareholders of the AST group he founded are now his sons.
In March 2016, the court's decision on the businessman's bankruptcy was overturned. But already in August of the same year, the court again resumed the procedure for declaring the ex-owner of Cherkizon bankrupt. In January 2017, the amount of his debts reached 31 billion rubles. In February, the Arbitration Court included another 8.9 billion rubles in the register of creditors’ claims. In March 2017, he decided to start selling his property at auction.
Personal life
In the personal life of Telman Ismailov, everything is stable. He has been married for a long time and raised two sons, Sarkhan and Alekper, who succeeded him in business. Some of the entrepreneur’s many brothers are also known to the public. For example, Fazil Ismailov several years ago served as prefect of the Northern Administrative District of Moscow. And recently another brother, Rafik Ismailov, became infamous. He is suspected of organizing the murder of two businessmen - the founder of Lyublino Motors, Yuri Brilev, and the owner of a chain of shopping complexes, Vladimir Savkin.
Soon Thälmann was also accused of this crime. The Basmanny Court of Moscow authorized the arrest of the businessman in absentia, since at that time he left Russia.
Telman Ismailov is a very generous person. Everyone around him was used to receiving gifts. Also, the man did not deprive his celebrity guests of similar attention. For example, he gave the singer a villa in Turkey, the actress a diamond necklace, TV presenter and psychologist Ilham Mirzayev a gold Koran, and the singer a platinum watch. In addition, among Ismailov’s acquaintances there are such celebrities as, and others.
More than once they became guests at his birthday. There were rumors that he provided his plane more than once; at that time she was still the wife of the President of the Russian Federation. But this at least looks illogical. In one of his interviews, he said that he knew each other, and their children became friends and even visited each other.
The main hobby of an entrepreneur from Azerbaijan is collecting wristwatches, of which there are over two thousand pairs in his collection. Thälmann also tried twice to become a co-founder of a football club. In 2010, he became vice-president of the Terek team from Grozny, but took over the club only three years later, organizing a friendly match with the Israeli Beitar from Jerusalem, during which two profitable transfers of football players were formalized. At the same time, Telman was going to acquire ownership of the Israeli team, but the fans ruined this deal, after which the businessman lost interest in football.
Telman Ismailov now
All the latest news about Telman Ismailov is related to the criminal case and the “sale” of his property.
In May 2018, a shopping center on Izmailovskoye Shosse, which also belonged to the AST holding, went under the hammer.
Also this year, Mehman Kerimov, a defendant in Ismailov’s criminal case, was sentenced to 13 years in prison. At the moment, according to the investigation, Telman is the organizer of this crime, while Kerimov was the perpetrator. The former owner of Cherkizon has been put on the international wanted list. And where he is today is unknown.
But the seven-star Mardan Palace hotel will soon be operational again. Despite the fact that news constantly appeared in the media that the hotel was being plundered, the general director of the hotel said that they were negotiating with travel agencies, discussing the prospects for the 2018 summer season. He also noted that 200 people continue to work in the state. And the main event of the upcoming season will be an Indian wedding with a budget of $10-15 million.
Condition assessment
In 2006, the Cherkizovsky market was the largest center of small wholesale trade in terms of financial turnover. Telman Ismailov himself was 76 on the Forbes list in 2007. His fortune totaled $260 million.
In 2015, he was included among the 200 richest businessmen in Russia according to Forbes with a fortune of $600 million.