Billionaire Jewish philanthropist behind Genesis Prize probed in Spain

A Spanish court has put Russian billionaire Mikhail Fridman under official investigation for corruption, accusing him of having helped orchestrate the bankruptcy of Spanish technology company Zed.

Fridman is a major philanthropist to Jewish causes, including the Genesis Prize and Holocaust memorial projects.

Left to right: Jewish Agency chairman Natan Sharansky, Genesis Philanthropy Group chairman Mikhail Fridman, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and cabinet secretary-general Tzvi Hauser (Amos Ben Gershom/Flash90)

In a document seen by AFP, the National Court, which deals with major financial cases, summoned Fridman for questioning on September 12, placing him under investigation for corruption in business, market abuse, fraudulent insolvency and misuse of company assets.

One of the 100 richest men in the world according to Forbes, Fridman is accused of having led “a series of actions that led to the insolvency of the Spanish company ZED Worldwide SA… in order to buy it at a ridiculously low price, much lower than that of the market,” the court document says.

Fridman is co-owner of the Alfa Group, the biggest financial and industrial investment group in Russia.

— AFP and ToI staff