Vitaly Borisovich Malkin (russian: Виталий Борисович Малкин; born in 16 September 1952) is a Russian-Israeli business oligarch and politician who was born in

Pervouralsk Pervouralsk (russian: Первоура́льск, lit. ''the first in the Urals'') is a city in Sverdlovsk Oblast, Russia, located on the Chusovaya River ( Kama's tributary) west of Yekaterinburg, the administrative center of the oblast. Populati ...

near

Yekaterinburg Yekaterinburg ( ; rus, Екатеринбург, p=jɪkətʲɪrʲɪnˈburk), alternatively romanized as Ekaterinburg and formerly known as Sverdlovsk ( rus, Свердло́вск, , svʲɪrˈdlofsk, 1924–1991), is a city and the administra ...

, the administrative center of Sverdlovsk Oblast. He is married and has three children. His fortune is estimated by ''Forbes'' to be $1 billion.

Career

Malkin built his fortune in the banking sector, notably with his business partner

Bidzina Ivanishvili Bidzina Ivanishvili ( ka, ბიძინა ივანიშვილი, also known as Boris Grigoryevich Ivanishvili ; born 18 February 1956) is a Georgian politician, billionaire businessman and philanthropist, who served as Prime Minist ...

. The two men founded

Rossiysky Kredit Rossiysky Kredit (OJSC Bank Rossiysky Kredit) (russian: Российский кредит) was a Russian commercial bank that ceased operations on 24 July 2015, when the Central Bank of Russia withdrew the bank's license. Rossiysky Kredit was esta ...

, which was the third largest Russian bank until the financial crisis of 1998. He officially retired from business in 2004, when he became a member of

Federation Council The Federation Council (russian: Сове́т Федера́ции – ''Soviet Federatsii'', common abbreviation: Совфед – ''Sovfed''), or Senate (officially, starting from July 1, 2020) ( ru , Сенат , translit = Senat), is th ...

, representing the east Siberian republic of Buryatia (from 2004 to 2013). In 2012, he headed a delegation of four Russian senators in Washington lobbying against the

Magnitsky Act The Magnitsky Act, formally known as the Russia and Moldova Jackson–Vanik Repeal and Sergei Magnitsky Rule of Law Accountability Act of 2012, is a bipartisan bill passed by the U.S. Congress and signed into law by President Barack Obama in D ...

. Vitaly Malkin and his colleagues tried to convince American senators that

Sergei Magnitsky Sergei Leonidovich Magnitsky (russian: Сергeй Леонидович Магнитский, ; 8 April 1972 – 16 November 2009) was a Ukrainian-born Russian tax advisor responsible for exposing corruption and misconduct by Russian gover ...

was a criminal and that he died from pancreatitis.

Controversy

According to the ''National Post'' (Canada), Malkin was denied entry to Canada in May 2009. The Canadian government has accused him of involvement in alleged money laundering and international arms deals. In 2013, Russian anti-corruption activist

Alexei Navalny Alexei Anatolievich Navalny ( rus, links=no, Алексей Анатольевич Навальный, , ɐlʲɪkˈsʲej ɐnɐˈtolʲjɪvʲɪtɕ nɐˈvalʲnɨj; born 4 June 1976) is a Russian opposition leader, lawyer, and anti-corruption act ...

published documents on his blog, showing that Malkin has failed to declare ownership of 111 condominiums in Canada and that he has an Israeli passport. In March 2013, Malkin resigned from

over the dual nationality issue.

References

Russian bankers 1952 births Living people Russian oligarchs Russian businesspeople in Israel Russian Jews Israeli businesspeople Israeli Jews Israeli people of Russian descent Members of the Federation Council of Russia (after 2000) People from Pervouralsk {{Russia-bio-stub