MOSCOW, May 22 (RIA Novosti) - Metals magnate Mikhail Prokhorov, Russia's richest man, has registered in a Siberian gold mining village, a move that will see his tax contribution go to the local budget, regional authorities said.
"Evidently, Mikhail Prokhorov will now pay his taxes into the regional budget. Information on his registration in our region only emerged a few days ago", a spokesman for the Krasnoyarsk Territory's governor told RIA Novosti on Friday.
The village of Yeruda has the largest gold field in the Kranoyarsk Territory, operated by Polyus Gold, controlled by Prokhorov, who reached the top of Russia's rich list earlier this year with net wealth of $9.5 billion.
A PR piece on the website of the world's largest nickel producer Norilsk Nickel, formerly controlled by Prokhorov, describes the village in glowing terms, saying: "Thanks to ZAO Polyus, Yeruda has turned into a prosperous village of 2,300 inhabitants, with everything necessarily for the harsh northern life."
However, Prokhorov, who made headlines in Europe last summer with his purchase of a mansion on the French Riviera for 500 million euros, is unlikely to relocate to the Siberian village.
A spokesman for Prokhorov's investment vehicle Onexim explained: "Given the difficult economic period, one of the main social responsibilities of a business is to pay its taxes in full, and it would seem proper to pay them where the main sources of income are. For Prokhorov, one of his main assets is Polyus Gold."
Prokhorov had previously been registered in Moscow.
He stepped down as head of Norilsk Nickel two years ago after a scandal involving alleged prostitutes in France's Courchevel ski resort. However, he was never charged over the incident.
