Alexander Zhukov (businessman)

Zhukov was born in 1954 in Moscow. His father, Shayaborg (Boris) Rabkin, was a playwright and writer, and his mother, Inessa Rabkina, was an editor at the Moscow film studio. After graduating from school, he worked as an assistant to a film director at the Moscow film studio "Tsentrnauchfilm". In 1981, he graduated from the Institute of Asian and African Studies under the Moscow State University. After graduation, he worked as editor at "Sovinterfest" (a division of the Goskino organizing exhibitions and festivals).[1]

In the late 1980s, he started his business activity. Zhukov has resided in London since 1993. In 2001, he became a British citizen.

In 2001, Zhukov was arrested in Italy and spent several months under arrest on suspicion of being engaged in arms smuggling from Ukraine to the states of former Yugoslavia.[2] Subject to legal documents, Zhukov was charged of "moral complicity". In 2004, Zhukov was absolved from the offences of "moral complicity" in arms trading, because (as was stated in court decision) the offences, for which he was charged, did not occur.

In the late 1980s, Zhukov founded the cooperative "Byte" and started the business of selling personal computers.

In the early 1990s, jointly with his acquaintances Leonid Lebedev and Mark Garber, he founded a cooperative named "Sintez". In 1991-1992, Sintez started to trade oil and oil products.

In 1992, Sintez founded a company named "Negusneft" that acquired a license to explore and develop a small Varyngskoe field in the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous District. Also, Sintez acquired 10% share in "Nizhnevartovskneftegaz" (the core of the future company TNK), 15% in "Rosneft-Sakhalinmorneftegaz" and 15% in the Yaroslavl Oil Processing Plant. In 1997, the group’s turnover reached US$1.5 billion.[4]

In 1993, the group began to cooperate with the Odessa Oil Processing Plant. At the same time the group were making investments to the port development. The investments amounted to US$100 million. By the end of the nineties the capacity of the oil intake, storage and transshipment facility reached 25 million tons per year.[1]

Sintez transshipped oil through the Odessa port terminal and arranged for oil trading in the international market through its traders located in the UK, Switzerland and Finland.

In 1995, the group acquired a Ukrainian bank which later became Marine Transport Bank. Initially its operations were limited to the processing of the group’s transactions but later it expanded its operations and started to service public agencies and enterprises in the Odessa Region.

In the late 1990s, the Sintez business partners decided to divide the business. The transshipment business and the bank in Ukraine passed to Zhukov, while the Russian assets - to Lebedev.[1]

In 1998, Zhukov started to cooperate with Lukoil. A joint venture "Luk-Sintez Oil" was established to supply the Lukoil-produced oil. In 1999, the company acquired the Odessa Oil Processing Plant. In 2000, Zhukov sold his share in the company to Lukoil.

In the beginning of 2000, Zhukov consolidated his transshipment business in Ukraine under the Transit brand. Later in 2001-2002, the business was sold.[1]

In 2004, Marine Transport Bank was sold.

After the sale of the transshipment business and bank Mr Zhukov focused on investing in Russia. The Interfinance group was founded with "Interfinance SA", Switzerland as the headquarter company. The group invested in various sectors such as port infrastructure, oil and oil extraction, food industry, portfolio loans, construction, including road construction, development, land assets, portfolio investments.