Mikhail Khodorkovsky just cannot stay out of trouble. If he’s not thrown in jail in Russia, his millions are frozen in Ireland. Once known as one of the richest oligarchs in Russia, Khodorkovsky was put under lock and key in 2003 under what is rumoured to be strange circumstances. In February that year he criticised Russian officials in a televised meeting with President Putin at the Kremlin. Later in the year he was arrested. The charges were for tax evasion and other alleged economic crimes. In 2005 he was found guilty despite the convictions being widely deemed as being politically motivated.
Poor, and in Prison
Khodorkovsky’s shares were suspended and his wealth collapsed overnight. From having an estimated wealth of US$15 billion in 2003, the oil magnate was soon worth only around $US100 million. Although that is still an absolute fortune to most, to the average Russian oligarch, this is not considered much more than pocket change.
Pardoned
Fast-forward to ten years later – the ‘poor’ Khodorkovsky is pardoned by Putin and moves to Switzerland from where he continues to strongly criticise the Russian president’s regime through Open Russia, a movement he started that promotes human rights and democracy in the Motherland. The only problem for Khodorkovsky at this stage was finding the cash to keep Open Russia afloat. His so-called ‘nickels and dimes’ was moved out of Russia back when he was arrested in 2003, and placed into trusts in Ireland. When trying to move it offshore years later, Khodorkovsky yet again found himself in a pickle.
Yet Another Predicament Unfolds
The Irish Financial Services Centre alerted the Guarda Bureau of Fraud Investigation to the fact that a large sum of money is about to be moved offshore, and by a Russian. The Irish Guards suspected no less than drug dealing or terrorism, and promptly froze Khodorkovsky’s cash. Despite repeated efforts to convince the Irish authorities that the money was not ill-begotten gains or intended for nefarious purposes, the Russians have not been successful in getting Khodorkovsky his cash. The latest in the news is that the Russians will make yet another application to the Irish courts to free up the money that has been frozen for the past five years. It certainly is a long battle for a ‘pocket change’.