October 29, 2008 By James Kimer

Kremlin Extends Lifeline to Mikhail Fridman

fridman061108.jpgThe Wall Street Journal is reporting that the Kremlin’s oligarch rescue plan is being fully deployed with the first major bailout of an individual, as $2 billion was tossed to Mikhail Fridman to pay back a loan from Deutsche Bank AG, allowing him to retain his 44% stake in Vimpelcom (VIP), one of the country’s largest and most successful mobile phone operators. On Monday, a Russian court froze Fridman’s stake in VIP, which actually protected the Alfa Bank founder from having the collateral seized by his creditors. The Journal reports that for the $50 billion rescue package, they have already received more than $100 billion in requests, and that Fridman appears to be the first official beneficiary: The selection criteria for the bailout loans are supposed to be objective, but VEB’s board is dominated by government officials and headed by Mr. Putin. But we doubt that Fridman is very happy about all this…

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