Summa Group chairman Ziyavudin Magomedov convicted of fraud, sentenced to 19 years

Moscow’s Meschansky District Court sentenced Summa Group founder and chairman Ziyavudin Magomedov to 19 years in a penal colony. The former billionaire and his brother, Magomed Magomedov, were found guilty of embezzling 11 billion rubles ($180 million) through land, real estate, and other transactions.

Ziyavudin Magomedov’s brother, Magomed Magomedov, is a former Federation Council member. As a second defendant in the case, he has been sentenced to 18 years in a penal colony.

The brothers were arrested in March 2018. The trial began in December 2020. Apart from the Magomedovs, there were around 20 other defendants in the case. Because of document bloat, the court took several days to announce the verdicts.

At the December 1 trial hearing, the court awarded the plaintiffs 3.6 billion rubles ($59 million).

Earlier, the prosecution had requested a 24-year prison term for Ziyavudin Magomedov, and a 21-year sentence for Magomed Magomedov.

Ziyavudin Magomedov used to be one of Russia’s richest people. In 2011, Forbes Russia wrote that he was worth $3 billion.