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Shalva Chigirinsky

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Shalva Chigirinsky in 2021

Shalva Chigirinsky (Russian: Шалва Павлович Чигиринский, born July 1, 1949, in Kutaisi) is a Israeli-Russian businessman, who was the major shareholder of AIM-listed British oil company Sibir Energy Plc. As a principal owner of Russian Land Ltd, he was involved in the implementation of major development projects: the reconstruction of Hotel Rossiya, the construction of the Russia Tower in Moscow City, the construction of the cultural and business center Crystal Island, and the reconstruction of New Holland Island in Saint Petersburg. In 2008, Forbes ranked him as the 524th richest person in the world and as 58th on the list of Russian billionaires.[1]

Biography

Shalva Chigirinsky was born into a Jewish family on July 1, 1949, in Kutaisi. He attended the First State Medical University in Moscow during his post-secondary education.[2][3]

In 1987, Chigirinsky moved to Spain, and then he relocated to Germany to engage in the real estate business. At that time, Chigirinsky met the banker Karl-Heinz Stock, with whom he became co-founder of the company S+T Group Handels GMBH, which carried out its activities in Russia.[2][3]

Career

In 1987, he emigrated to Spain and later to Germany, wherein 1989, he became a co-founder of the real estate development company STT Group.[4]

In the 1990s, it became a major shareholder of Sibir Energy, a London-listed Russian oil company. Chigirinsky's firm Russian Land owned 16 development projects around the country. Among the largest were the multifunctional New Holland complex in St. Petersburg, an entertainment center on Nagatinskaya Poima, and the reconstruction of the Rossiya and Sovietsky hotels. His main development projects included the construction of Russia Tower, a 6OO-metre (1,970 foot) skyscraper designed by UK architect Norman Foster to be Europe's tallest building. It was canceled due to the financial crisis of 2007–2008.[5][6]

Chigirinsky's troubles began in fall 2008 with margin calls on a loan backed by 23.3 percent of London-traded oil company Sibir Energy. Several months later, it became known that Chigirinsky had "borrowed" about $400 million from Sibir, and the company began an internal investigation. He faces several other lawsuits in different jurisdictions. In 2009, Shalva Chigirinsky gave up his main Russian businesses and lost all of them, and only controls a few small projects in the regions.[7][8][6]

In 2013, Shalva Chigirinsky moved to the United States, where he continued to engage in development projects.[9]

Personal life

Chigirinsky and his first wife, Tamara, have a son, Vadim. They met in 1970 and divorced in 1981.[10]

In 2003, Shalva Chigirinsky married Tatiana Panchenkova and separated in April 2009. The former spouses have four young children: two older daughters and twins, a boy and a girl. After Shalva and Tatiana initiated a scandalous divorce process in Russia and the United States courts. In November 2012, Panchenkova filed a lawsuit in Connecticut state courts, accusing her ex-husband of "physical, psychological, and emotional abuse" for ten years. She also brought a separate case against him, demanding additional post-divorce payments. In October 2014, in the court of Waterbury, Connecticut, a jury found Chigirinsky not guilty on all of the charges. In June 2014, Chigirinsky filed a lawsuit in federal court in New York, accusing Panchenkova of concealing real estate in the United States during the divorce. Also, Chigirinsky has accused his ex-wife of secretly selling off pieces from their $120 million collections of art, antiques, and furniture in 2010. He claimed she violated their agreement to hold the collection in trust for their children.[4][11][12]

Panchenkova accused Chigirinsky of abusing her daughter during a protracted legal dispute. On March 7, 2016, a court in Stamford, Connecticut, issued a warrant for the arrest of Shalva Chigirinsky based on a preliminary investigation. Chigirinsky denied all charges but voluntarily came to the police and was detained. On March 17, the Connecticut Supreme Court released him on $50,000 bail. In early June 2016, the court of Stamford, Connecticut, issued a warrant for the arrest of Tatiana Panchenkova herself on charges of acting "at risk of harm to minors and their moral decay." It was the result of an examination, which showed that Tatyana "manipulated her children to incite hatred towards their father Shalva Chigirinsky" and instructed them on the "correct" answers in court. In August 2016, the custody trial concluded. The court allowed Chigirinsky contact with the children.[13][12][14][15]

In early February 2017, a Connecticut court dropped the case against Chigirinsky, finding the entrepreneur not guilty. In November 2017, the former spouses settled a dispute in the U.S. over the property. The court also dismissed the case for additional payments. Chigirinsky reunited with all of his children.[16][15][17]

References

  1. ^ "Русские в списке Forbes: от Ельцина до Медведева" [Russians on the Forbes list. From Yeltsin to Medvedev] (in Russian). Forbes. 12 March 2010. Retrieved 29 December 2021.
  2. ^ a b "Башни из слоновой кости" (in Russian). Journal "Company". 2 October 2006. Retrieved 28 December 2021.
  3. ^ a b "Первый среди бедных" [First among the Poor] (in Russian). Kommersant. 13 July 2009. Retrieved 28 December 2021.
  4. ^ a b "Shalva Chigirinsky". Forbes. 5 March 2008. Retrieved 13 September 2009.
  5. ^ "Moscow super skyscraper halted". BBC. 21 November 2008. Retrieved 29 December 2021.
  6. ^ a b "Tax Cases Targeting Chigirinsky Closed". The Moscow Times. 15 November 2010. Retrieved 29 December 2021.
  7. ^ "Russia's Chigirinsky leaves businesses - paper". Reuters. 30 March 2009. Retrieved 29 December 2021.
  8. ^ Dmitry Sergeev (24 August 2009). "Russia's VTB says wins lawsuit against Chigirinsky". Reuters. Retrieved 13 September 2009.
  9. ^ "Под снос: почему миллиардеры-строители растеряли свое богатство" [Under demolition: why billionaire builders squandered their wealth]. Forbes. 15 May 2014. Retrieved 29 December 2021.
  10. ^ "Разводный ключик" [The divorce key] (in Russian). Kommersant. 12 July 2004. Retrieved 29 December 2021.
  11. ^ "Russian tycoon Chigirinsky accuses his ex-wife's business partner of aiding fraud". RAPSI. 12 July 2004. Retrieved 29 December 2021.
  12. ^ a b "В обвинении Шалве Чигиринскому появилась семейная версия" [A family version appeared in the indictment of Shalva Chigirinsky] (in Russian). Kommersant. 5 June 2016. Retrieved 29 December 2021.
  13. ^ "Шалва Чигиринский попал под залог" [Shalva Chigirinsky got bail] (in Russian). RBC. 20 March 2016. Retrieved 29 December 2021.
  14. ^ "Миллиардер Чигиринский с экс-супругой поделили опекунство над детьми в США" [Billionaire Chigirinskiy and his ex-wife split child custody in the USA] (in Russian). РАПСИ / RAPSI. 19 August 2016. Retrieved 29 December 2021.
  15. ^ a b "«Ложное обвинение нанесло его имени и репутации жестокий и подлый удар»" ["The false accusation has dealt his name and reputation a cruel and despicable blow] (in Russian). Kommersant. 4 February 2017. Retrieved 29 December 2021.
  16. ^ "Charges against Russian tycoon Chigirinsky dropped in U.S." RAPSI. 6 February 2017. Retrieved 29 December 2021.
  17. ^ "Чигиринский и его бывшая супруга урегулировали в США спор вокруг имущества" (in Russian). РАПСИ / RAPSI. 27 November 2017. Retrieved 29 December 2021.
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