Skip To Content
logo/forward/small
Get our NewslettersShop our Store
JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.
Support Our WorkSupport Us
Fast Forward

Russian Billionaire Who Kidnapped Dad Ensnared In Israel Corruption Probe

Russian Israeli billionaire Michael Mirilashvili Image by twitter

By Daniel J. Solomon May 31, 2017

Another Israeli corruption scandal has honed in on another billionaire.

According to Haaretz, an inquiry into Interior Minister Arye Deri’s finances by police has led to the questioning of Michael Mirilashvili, a Russian-Israeli billionaire. Mirilashvili funneled hundreds of thousands of dollars to Mifalot Simha, a charity suspected to have siphoned off funds to Deri, who has previously served time in prison for corruption.

Mirilashvili and his family have made a fortune through a diversified portfolio that has included stakes in Israeli energy companies, the Russian social media site VKontakte and an international diamond venture. He also owns Israel’s Channel 20, which focuses on “Jewish heritage” programming.

This isn’t Mirilashvili’s first brush with trouble. He previously served eight years in prison for the kidnapping of his father, a prominent leader of Georgia’s Jews, an event that roiled the international Jewish press.

Contact Daniel J. Solomon at [email protected] or on Twitter @DanielJSolomon

Daniel J. Solomon is the former Assistant to the Editor/News Writer at the Forward. Originally from Queens, he attended Harvard as an undergraduate, where he wrote his senior thesis on French-Jewish intellectual history. He is excited to have returned to New York after his time in Massachusetts. Daniel’s passions include folk music, cycling, and pointed argument.

Dive In

Explore

Most Popular

In Case You Missed It

Republish This Story

Please read before republishing

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines.
You must comply with the following:

  • Credit the Forward
  • Retain our pixel
  • Preserve our canonical link in Google search
  • Add a noindex tag in Google search

See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.

To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.

Russian Billionaire Who Kidnapped Dad Ensnared In Israel Corruption Probe

Copied to clipboard
Copied to clipboard

We don't support Internet Explorer

Please use Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge to view this site.