Vitaly Malkin is a 56 years old Russian business oligarch

Business oligarch

Business oligarch is a near-synonym of the term "business magnate", borrowed by the English speaking and western media from post-Soviet parlance to describe the huge, fast-acquired wealth of some businessmen of the former Soviet republics during the privatization in Russia and other post-Soviet...

 and politician who was born near the city of Ekaterinburg in the central part of Russia, the administrative center of Sverdlovsk Oblast

Sverdlovsk Oblast

Sverdlovsk Oblast is a federal subject of Russia located in the Urals Federal District. Its administrative center is the city of Yekaterinburg formerly known as Sverdlovsk. Population: -Geography:...

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He is married and has three children. His fortune is estimated by Forbes to be $1 billion. According to Swiss media, Malkin has bank accounts in Credit Suisse, Geneva branch.

Business

Malkin built his fortune in the banking sector, notably with his business partner Boris Ivanishvili

Boris Ivanishvili

Boris Ivanishvili is a Georgian oligarch with a net worth reported to be 5.5 billion dollars.- Biographical details :...

. The two men founded Bank Rossisskii Kredit, which was the third largest Russian bank until the 1998 financial crisis.

Political career

Malkin has been a member of Russian Senate since 2004 and is now officially retired from business.

Malkin represents the east Siberian republic of Buryatia

Buryatia

The Republic of Buryatia is a federal subject of Russia . Its capital is the city of Ulan-Ude. Its area is with a population of 972,658 .-Geography:...

in the Federation Council since 2004.

Controversy

According to Canadian newspaper National Post, Malkin was denied entry to Canada in May 2009 after a 15 years legal dispute. The Canadian government accuses him of involvement in organized crime (money laundering and international arm trades).