According to the Russian investigative media outlet Proekt, Senator Suleyman Kerimov from Daghestan allegedly obtained both his parliamentary and senatorial positions through bribes, gave expensive gifts to the family of the head of Russia’s Presidential Administration, and is rarely involved in his official duties.
The investigation by the independent Russian outlet Proekt claims that Kerimov secured his political status through corruption schemes and gained access to President Vladimir Putin via Anton Vaino, the head of the Presidential Administration.
According to the investigation’s authors, Kerimov bought his MP status in 1999 for $5 million, and later, in 2008, reached the upper house through bribery.
Proekt reported that Kerimov began building his influence while working as an accountant ‘in the structures of Daghestani mafia leaders’. He then developed close ties with Liberal-Democratic Party of Russia (LDPR) leader Vladimir Zhirinovsky, from whom he allegedly obtained his position as MP for a bribe. The investigation notes that by the mid-2000s, Kerimov had established close relations with Vaino, who was then responsible for coordinating Putin’s schedule and trips.
Through intermediaries, Kerimov is said to have given the Vaino family expensive gifts, including a plot of land in an elite area of Moscow and a 46-metre yacht named Marlin. These ties reportedly gave Kerimov personal access to Putin, which, according to journalists, he used on several occasions.
The report states that in 2008, following a deal with Putin’s associate Yury Kovalchuk, Kerimov met with Putin and, at the prime minister’s insistence, ceded the right to collect a debt of around $400 million to the offshore company Sandalwood Continental, registered to another Putin associate, cellist Sergey Roldugin.
The same year, while serving as prime minister and chairing the commission on strategic assets, Putin approved Kerimov’s application to acquire the gold-mining company Polyus, which became the foundation of the Daghestani businessperson’s wealth.
Despite a political career spanning more than 25 years, the journalists claimed that Kerimov does virtually no parliamentary work. The report claims that in recent years he has stopped attending Federation Council sessions due to a conflict with Chechen Head Ramzan Kadyrov.
Following a dispute over the merger of the online marketplace Wildberries with the advertising operator Russ, Kadyrov publicly declared a blood feud against Kerimov. The publication also noted that Kerimov fears meeting Chechnya’s Senator Suleyman Geremeev, as such a meeting could allegedly end in a shootout.
Proekt also highlights broader family and clan ties among officials from the North Caucasus. According to their findings, 96% of all federal officials and MPs with careers linked to the region have placed their relatives in government positions. Kerimov ranks third among them by the number of relatives employed in government or state-related business — 13 in total — behind only Ramzan Kadyrov (96 relatives) and the senator from Kabarda–Balkaria, Arsen Kanokov (19 relatives).
Shota Kincha
