 |
Alexander ZhukovBillionaire investor, president and chairman of the board of the American corporation World Lab Technologies
Date of Birth: 12.03.1969
|
Content:
- Education and Early Career
- Business Ventures in the 1980s
- Odessa Oil Business and "Sintez Oil"
- Business Activities in London
- Legal Concerns and Arms Trade Allegations
- Business Interests in the 2000s
Education and Early Career
Born in 1954 to a writer father and a film editor mother, Alexander Zhukov enrolled at Moscow State University in 1974 to study Oriental Languages. Prior to entering university, he worked as an assistant director at the Odessa film studio "Internauchfilm."
Business Ventures in the 1980s
After graduating university, Zhukov became an editor at "Sovinterfest," an organization under the USSR State Film Committee. In 1987, he established the computer sales cooperative "Byte," which later merged into the cooperative "Sintez" and subsequently into the joint venture "Sintez Corporation" (owned by Leonid Lebedev).
Odessa Oil Business and "Sintez Oil"
Zhukov played a key role in the founding of "MorTransBank," which served the Odessa region. He became closely associated with Ruslan Bodelan, the governor of Odessa Oblast and former first secretary of the Odessa Regional Committee of the Communist Party.
In 1992, Zhukov founded ZAO PII "Sintez Oil" in Odessa, which handled the transit of oil and oil products. "Sintez Oil" controlled the Odessa Sea Transport Bank, which managed the Odessa regional budget. Zhukov invested heavily in modernizing the Odessa Sea Port, increasing its oil product handling capacity by 1 million tons annually. In 2001, "Sintez Oil" completed the construction and operation of a liquefied gas (propane and butane) terminal, the only one of its kind in the CIS and Baltic countries.
Business Activities in London
Zhukov relocated to London in 1993. In the mid-1990s, the "Sintez" cooperative established LLC "SK Oil Invest," which became the successor to Sintez Corporation Limited in a contract with "Rosvooruzheniye" (Russian Armament). This contract granted the company the right to sell oil supplied by Iran to offset payments for Russian military equipment.
Zhukov headed the British company "Sintez UK Limited" and established the Swiss holding company "Sintez Holding SA" (the founder of "Sintez UK"). These entities controlled the oil transshipment complex (up to 20 million tons per year) of the Odessa Sea Port, the second largest in the former Soviet Union.
Legal Concerns and Arms Trade Allegations
In 1999, Zhukov was linked to a criminal case investigated by German authorities involving former Soviet citizen Alexander Andreas, suspected of illegal financial transactions for Russian criminal groups. Ukrainian authority Alexander Angert, previously convicted of murder, was also implicated in the case.
In 2001, Zhukov became a British citizen (British passport number 070255788). On August 5, 2001, he was arrested at his villa in Turin, Italy, in connection with the alleged supply of 30,000 Kalashnikov assault rifles, over 10,000 rockets, and other ammunition from Ukraine and Belarus to forces fighting in Yugoslavia.
In January 2004, the Turin court found Zhukov, Lebedev, Garber, Fedorenko, and Vazhnik not guilty, as arms smuggling from one foreign country to another was not considered a crime in Italy.
Business Interests in the 2000s
As of 2006, Zhukov controlled the "Glengary" fund, registered in the Virgin Islands. The fund held 25.88% of the British oil and gas company "JKX Oil & Gas" and had ties to Russian government and business circles, particularly "Gazprom." Ukrainian businessman Dmytro Firtash was also among the company's shareholders.
Zhukov's daughter, Dasha, gained media attention as the former girlfriend of tennis player Marat Safin and the alleged lover of Roman Abramovich, contributing to the breakdown of his marriage to Irina Abramovich.
