Swiss investigate a Russian oligarch who helped finance Tom Cruise's film Top Gun
07/01/2023
Swiss prosecutors opened a case last year against Dmitry Rybolovlev, a Monaco-based mining tycoon worth an estimated $6.6 billion, but did not give details.
Dmitry Rybolovlev, a Russian billionaire, helped to finance the Tom Cruise blockbuster Top Gun: Maverick, a US lawsuit has revealed.
Rybolovlev owns
- AS Monaco football club a
- Artworks by Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse and Mark Rothko.
- A $95 million Palm Beach mansion – bought from Donald Trump in 2018
What did he do?
- Dmitry Rybolovlev is said to have exercised "functional control" over a production company that signed a $200 million deal in 2020 with the Hollywood giant Paramount Pictures to fund up to a quarter of the budget of ten films.
- The deal with the production company, New Republic Pictures, was a welcome boost for Paramount when the Hollywood giant was struggling with a fall in revenues and cinemas closing because of the pandemic.
- According to documents lodged with the Los Angeles superior court, Rybolovlev moved his assets out of the venture after Russia invaded Ukraine last February and western governments began imposing sanctions on wealthy Russians.
Lawsuit
- The lawsuit, seen by the Los Angeles Times, reveals Rybolovlev's involvement with Hollywood.
- It was filed by Bradley Fischer, New Republic's former president and chief content officer, claiming breach of contract and the return of $15 million he believes he is owed.
- In describing the background to the employment dispute, the lawsuit said the Top Gun deal with Paramount was achieved "with financial backing from a Russian oligarch and silent partner Dmitry Rybolovlev".
- It alleges that the Russian oligarch acted "through a series of agents, affiliates and subsidiaries".
- He denies wrongdoing.
Previous problems
- Rybolovlev, 56, was previously involved in a legal battle with his former art dealer Yves Bouvier.
- Bouvier, a Swiss, was cleared of fraud charges in 2019, a Monaco justice minister resigned and two top police officers were suspended after reports that they had worked on Rybolovlev's behalf.
Sourced
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/russian-oligarch-helped-finance-tom-cruise-film-top-gun-trslc2f2x
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