Translated material
Senator Suleiman Kerimov was detained in Nice
French police detained businessman and member of the Federation Council Suleiman Kerimov in Nice.
The TASS correspondent was informed about the detention by the press service of the Russian Embassy in France. According to the agency's interlocutor, he was detained late in the evening of November 20 at Nice airport and taken to the police station. At about 5:30 (Moscow time), employees of the office of the Russian Consulate General in the city of Villefranche-sur-Mer managed to meet with him.
The senator is currently in police custody; diplomatic staff are providing him with “all possible consular support.” It is not reported what charges have been brought against Kerimov.
In March 2017, the local publication Nice Matin reported on searches at the Hier villa, allegedly owned by Kerimov, which took place as part of an investigation into the legality of the acquisition of luxury real estate. This villa with an area of 12 thousand square meters and three even less expensive villas Medy Roc, Lexa and Fiorella according to documents belonged to the Swiss financier Alexander Studhalter, but the French police suggested that he was a fictitious owner covering up the real owner - a Russian senator. Then a source of the publication close to Studhalter said that all the villas were purchased legally and were a “temporary refuge” for Kerimov, who regularly visits them.
In 2006, Kerimov was involved in a car accident while driving a Ferrari Enzo at high speed along Nice's Promenade des Anglais despite the speed limit of 70 kilometers per hour. The businessman's car lost control, flew over the sidewalk, split in half when it hit a tree and caught fire. Kerimov was connected to an artificial respiration apparatus and survived, but his passenger, TV presenter Tina Kandelaki, received minor burns to her hands, arms and thighs.
Kerimov has served as senator from Dagestan since 2008. According to Forbes, he is in 21st place in the list of the richest businessmen in Russia with a fortune of $6.3 billion.