Russia's richest man moves to god-forsaken village

Mikhail Prokhorov, Russia’s richest man, the president of Onexim Group, has been officially registered in the Krasnoyarsk region of Russia. He formally became a resident of the settlement of Yeruda, where JSC Polyus Zoloto (Pole Gold, the gold-mining company) is located, Interfax reports.

The press secretary of the regional governor said that Prokhorov would most likely pay his taxes to the treasury of the region as a natural person.

Official spokespeople for Oneksim Group confirmed the registration of their president in the village. The entrepreneur, who previously was registered in Moscow, considers it correct to pay taxes as a natural person in the primary location of the source of his income.

Roman Abramovich became the first businessman in Russia who started to pay taxes in the region of his political and economic interests. When Abramovich was the governor of Chukotka, he considerably improved the financial condition of the regional budget with the help of his own tax payments.

Onexim Group previously confirmed the ownership of about 30 percent of shares of Polyus Gold (the media reported 35 percent).

Mikahil Prokhorov topped the list of Russia’s richest men last year according to Forbes. The magazine evaluated his fortune at $9.5 billion. Other figures on Forbes’s list – oligarchs Oleg Deripaska, Vladimir Potanin, Suleiman Karimov – also have businesses in Russian regions.

“We live in dormitories here basically. There are canteens, gyms and a club here. It is a small oasis in taiga. There is no luxury here whatsoever,” an anonymous resident of Prokhorov’s new place of living said.