Russian billionaire playboy oligarch/Brooklyn Nets owner/heli-skiier/rapper/politician Mikhail Prokhorov received permission from the NBA to relocate the Nets ownership vehicle to Russia, a move that will allow him to comply with a new Russian law that bans some Russian officials from owning assets abroad. Prokhorov ran for Russian President while owner of the Nets in 2012 — prior to the new laws regarding foreign assets — losing to current Russian President Vladimir Putin by a wide margin.
“I received permission from the NBA to transfer the company that owns the Brooklyn Nets to a Russian company,” Prokhorov said at the Thursday press conference. The Nets owner also said he received permission to move the ownership structure of Barclays Center to Russia. Neither move should have a significant impact on the operations of the Nets or arena.
Even with the permission, Prokhorov will not run for Mayor of Moscow as previously planned. At a June 13th press conference — the same day the Nets announced Jason Kidd would be their new head coach — Prokhorov said his Civil Platform party “will not participate in the procedure of prolonging the current mayor’s license.”
Prokhorov had planned to run for mayor in Fall of 2015, when current mayor Serei Sobyanin’s term runs out. But Sobyanin announced last week that he is stepping down, triggering a special September election that Sobyanin will run in himself. The move is seen as a ploy by Sobyanin to extend his time in office by limiting his opponents’ chance to campaign before the elections.
Read More: Transitions Online – – Prokhorov to Sit Out Moscow Mayoral Race
Read More: The Wall Street Journal, Paul Sonne – – The Nets Are About To ‘Move’ To Russia
