Private Detectives Plead Guilty In Israel Of Spying On Michael Cherney


By Herb Brandon
Israel News Agency

Tel Aviv, Israel ---- April 4, 2011 ..... On March 27, a Tel Aviv, Israel Court found private detectives Rafi Pridan and Maxim Gurevich guilty of illegally wiretapping phone conversations of businessman and philanthropist Michael Cherney’s secretary. Pridan and Gurevich created a plea bargain with the prosecution. Rafi Pridan’s private investigator license was suspended.

On February 14, 2008, Michael Cherney (Mikhal Chernoy) filed a suit in a Tel Aviv court against ten people, including his former partner, Russia tycoon Oleg Deripaska, requesting 10 million shekels in damages. Cherney claimed that Deripaska had launched an international campaign, including one in Israel, to discredit him. This included slander in electronic and print media publications, street graffiti and attempts to influence authorities by illegal means.

This case is directly related to a lawsuit taking place in London. In November 2006 Michael Cherney filed a suit against Oleg Deripaska, his former business partner. In this legal action Cherney demanded that he be recognised as the owner of 20 per cent of the stock in UC Rusal (the second largest aluminum producer in the world), or else that he be compensated the full value of the package. The total of the claim, including various interest and charges by June 2010 exceeded $4bn USD.

The High Court in London has ruled against all of Deripaska's motions that challenged British jurisdiction for the case and the court will hear the case on its merit in April 2012.

In April 2009 Israel publication Haaretz noted that this London suit was the cause of Deripaska and his advisers undertaking large scale attempts to discredit Cherney in Europe and Israel. In addition to attempting to damage Michael Cherney's reputation, they allegedly expected that a European country would place him on the international INTERPOL wanted list in order to prevent him from appearing in court in London.

A year ago, a Tel Aviv court found private detective Aviv Mor guilty of illegal wiretaps on Cherney’s secretary and sentenced him to 14 months of prison and damages amounting to 20,000 shekels.

On 3 January 2011 an indictment of Avigdor Eskin, another defendant in the case, was submitted by the Attorney General's office to a Jerusalem court. According to that bill of indictment, one of the charges against Eskin is that in April 2007 he was contacted by Alexei Drobaschenko who at that time was serving as the head of external relations for Basic Element, the financial and industrial group that manages Oleg Deripaska's assets.

The indictment details that at a meeting in Moscow, Drobaschenko explained to Eskin and Pridan that "people he represented are in conflict with businessman Michael Cherney and wanted to gather information on him".

Experts opine that the next indictment will be against Alexei Drobashenko, the former head of external relations for Basic Element (BasEl), and that this may directly implicate Oleg Deripaska, the owner of BasEl, in this criminal case.

Following his repatriation to Israel, Michael Cherney (Mikhail Chernoy) maintains business interests in Russia and post-Soviet states, while developing new business interests between Russia, Europe, Israel, and the US.

In Israel, Michael Cherney spends much effort on charity and humanitarian projects that reinforce cooperation between Israel and Russia in fighting Islamic terrorism.

Michael Cherney established a Website for his Foundation on June 1, 2001, the night of the terrorist bombing outside the Dolphinarium Disco in Tel Aviv.

Prior to 2001, Cherney was engaged in charity work in Russia, Ukraine, Central Asia, Bulgaria, the US - wherever he did business. He made valuable contributions into Jewish philanthropy in Russia. Following the Dolphinarium terrorist tragedy, the Cherney Fund became the helping hand for all its victims. In a misfortune like this, emigres from the former Soviet countries are even worse off than those born in Israel: they don't have a support system or savings.

The Cherney Foundation, offers assistance to new arrivals (olim), victims of catastrophes and terrorist acts that continue to bleed Israel, as well as to the low-income victims of terror in other countries. Another equally important task assumed by the Michael Cherney Foundation is the media effort in war on terror. Shortly after the Dolphinarium attack, the Foundation published a book entitled: Dolphinarium: Terror Targets the Young.

The Michael Cherney Foundation has established grants for students from the former Soviet Union in all major Israel universities with an annual endowment of one million shekels.

 

 

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