Platon Lebedev: Biography, Entrepreneurship

Lebedev Platon Leonidovich, in the past a successful entrepreneur, and today a former convict, periodically gets into the field of view of the press, who is interested in his opinion on various issues. What made him famous?

Becoming

Lebedev Platon Leonidovich was born in Moscow on November 29, 1956. About his childhood, nothing is known, Lebedev himself does not cover his private life. In 1976 he entered the Moscow Academy of National Economy . Plekhanov, who graduated in 1981. After the university Lebedev will get into the largest foreign economic company "Zarubezhgeologiya", in which he will work for 8 years. Such distribution after the institute testifies to the young man's outstanding abilities or significant connections, since it was extremely difficult to find an enterprise of this level.

Lebedev and Khodorkovsky

In the 80s, Platon Lebedev met Mikhail Khodorkovsky. This meeting became without exaggeration a fateful for him. They came together during their studies, both were active and wanted very much to apply their talents. Mikhail and Platon met in the period when both were engaged in Komsomol activity.

The end of the 1980s was the time when the first opportunities for entrepreneurship began to appear, and young people did not fail to take advantage of them. In the wake of the commercialization of all spheres of the country, including the Komsomol, Khodorkovsky together with Lebedev create the Youth Initiatives Fund. His goal was to receive money profit from the holding of youth events. At that time such economic initiatives were welcomed, as there was a trend of transfer of public organizations to self-financing.

Some time later the foundation was transformed into the Center for Scientific and Technical Creativity of Youth. So there was a model, which was repeatedly reproduced throughout the country. The center had the opportunity to engage in a variety of commercial activities, including purchases of computers for various government agencies, and cash cash. The center, thanks to the efforts of Khodorkovsky and Lebedev, was able to obtain huge orders for the supply of computers, including for some ministries. The cashing procedure became one of the most popular operations in the center, because in those days state structures did not have their own accounts and could not earn money by fulfilling orders.

Khodorkovsky is endlessly mastering new types of business: from the production of cooked jeans to the commercial accompaniment of orders of state research institutes. Lebedev becomes a loyal companion of Mikhail Borisovich, together they begin to earn serious money at that time.

Menatep

In 1989, Khodorkovsky decided to create his own bank. Platon Lebedev, whose biography is now inextricably linked with the business of Khodorkovsky, in 1991 became president of the MENATEP Bank. This commercial bank was among the first to receive a license to conduct currency transactions, they have a huge profit on them. Later, Khodorkovsky decides to issue shares of the bank, Lebedev conducts a grandiose advertising campaign, many people have invested in the enterprise, but the promised high dividends to shareholders did not have to see. The bank receives a lot of government agencies, even the Ministry of Finance used the services of MENATEP. Lebedev was engaged in conducting operations in Swiss banks and in various offshore zones.

The beginning of privatization of large commodity companies became the time of active growth of the bank, through various manipulations with collateral auctions. Khodorkovsky and Lebedev, in the person of the bank, owned 90% of the controlling stake in the second-largest oil company of Russia, Yukos.

Since 1995, the interests of Lebedev and Khodorkovsky have moved to the raw materials sphere, the bank ceases to be important for them. However, Lebedev remained chairman of the bank's board of directors. In 1998, during the economic crisis, MENATEP Bank ceased to exist, part of its capital became the basis for the establishment of Trust Bank. Platon Lebedev retained his position on the board of directors.

YUKOS

Platon Lebedev in 1996 became a member of the board of the oil company Yukos, which was headed by his friend Mikhail Khodorkovsky. Then he became deputy chairman of the board of directors. Lebedev, along with Khodorkovsky, apply various schemes of tax optimization and increase the value of Yukos several times. In 2003, Lebedev entered the list of the richest people in Russia according to the magazine Forbes, his fortune reached $ 1 billion, at which time he owned about 7% of the shares of MENATEP. He also managed the personal stakes in the shares of YUKOS shareholders, a total of 61% of the value of the entire company.

Trial

In 2003, a case against Lebedev was opened on suspicion of the theft of 20% of the shares of the Murmansk joint stock company "Apatit". Since Platon Lebedev did not appear on the summons to the prosecutor's office, referring to an urgent hospitalization, on July 2 he was arrested. So begins a new chapter in his life. He was immediately charged with articles on embezzlement and damage to property, and a little later and four more articles, including tax evasion. At the end of 2003, Khodorovsky was arrested, and the Lebedev affair acquires a political connotation.

In 2005, Lebedev was found guilty and sentenced to 9 years in prison. But together with Khodorkovsky Platon Lebedev insisted on his innocence, accusing the court of political bias and bias. The verdict was appealed, and during the review the court reduced the term for 1 year. Lebedev was sent to Chita together with Mikhail Khodorkovsky. In 2007, the second YUKOS case appeared, as a result of which the term of Lebedev increased to 13 years.

The fight for freedom

All the years of persecution, Lebedev did not admit his guilt, repeatedly filed complaints and petitions in connection with health problems. The world community and the Russian opposition consider Lebedev, like Khodorkovsky, a prisoner of conscience, who is persecuted for political reasons.

In 2014, the court confirmed its verdict, leaving in force the need to recover from Lebedev and Khodorkovsky 17 billion rubles. In January 2014, the Presidium of the Supreme Court of Russia reduced the term of punishment to the one served, and on January 24 Platon Lebedev, whose photo appeared on the covers of many world media, was released.

On release, Lebedev said that he intends to engage in international business, but for this he needs a passport. Get it, he could not, because it saved many millions of penalties.

A family

The first time Lebedev married in 1977. The couple had two children: Lyudmila and Mikhail. In 2006, Lebedev, being in the colony, divorces Natalia and marries a second time, on a girl who already had a child from him. In this marriage, Platon Leonidovich also had two children - Daria and Maria.

Media attention was repeatedly attracted to the son-in-law of Lebedev Platon, who was suspected of having links with the mafia. Lebedev himself did not comment on suspicions about possible ties with the Chechen crime. Ibrahim Suleymanov, the son-in-law of Platon Lebedev, was charged with fraud and money laundering and in 2007 was sentenced to lengthy imprisonment.