The publications related to Lev Leviev and his projects won unconditional leadership in the June-July news traffic. The major array of publications was generated by the City of Perm (which was stipulated by the very news essence), but the information was in the spotlight of other mass media.
As was reported by the Perm regional server, during their meeting on June 16, Lev Leviev and Perm Governor Oleg Chirkunov discussed the plans of the Moscow Jewelry Plant (MJP) to move its production facilities to the Perm Territory. Business is attracted by a lowered 20-percent profit tax set in the territory, which is 24 percent in other Russian regions.
“Production development in Perm will permit to cut costs and efficiently compete with the cheap and low-quality import from Turkey and South-East Asia, which inundated the market,” told Valery Morozov, General Manager of the Ruiz Group of Companies to Interfax.
As Mr. Leviev noted, soon the plant’s entire turnover will flow through the Perm Territory. To make these plans real it will be necessary to meet several requirements: to open an agency of the Russian Hallmarking Chamber and a specialized customs terminal in Perm, as well as to allot a parcel of land for the new plant. The investor is ready to put up about $10-15 million into production in the Perm Territory.
According to the Governor, the Perm Territory management has set some rules for collaborating with investors. “For us it is not only important how much tax deductions will go to the budget, but also how many jobs will be created and what kind of labor compensation fund there will be,” said Oleg Chirkunov.
It is reported that MJP plans to move its major production facilities as well as Lukas Zoloto to Perm thus creating additionally over 300 jobs. MJP already opened its affiliate in Perm two years ago. Now the enterprise is not only building up its production turn-round, but provides for one of the highest wage levels in the Perm Territory.
The investor is also considering a possibility to train qualified personnel for jewelry production, the need of which is growing from year to year. In this context Governor Oleg Chirkunov proposed to join the program of regional certificates for occupational training launched in the Perm Territory this year.
Ilya Adamsky, heading the Representation of the Perm Territory with the Russian Federation Government, is one of the key lobbyists assisting Lev Leviev. Being the former commercial director of the Moscow Jewelry Plant, Adamsky noted in his interview to the Kommersant daily that “this project should be economically wanted, since in Moscow production costs are already sweeping off the scale. It is evident that production in Perm is economically much more attractive. The question is whether we shall be able to convince owners of jewelry companies to move. Many of them may fear the moving procedure and the risks involved.”
According to the information furnished by the sources of the IzRus portal at the Ramat Gan Diamond Bourse, the management of the Perm enterprise will include some Israeli experts as it is practiced in other Leviev’s factories in Russia.

Kommersant reminds that MJP enters into Lev Leviev’s Ruiz Group. Its retail network consists of 128 stores. According to SPARK-Interfax, MJP’s proceeds in 2006 reached 903 million roubles and its net profit was 51.5 million roubles. It has a wide-spread sales network of 150 stores across Russia and the Ukraine.
According to various estimates, the Leviev Group’s annual turnover reaches up to $3 billion, of which more than $1 billion falls within the diamond business, Delovoye Prikamye reminds. The Group is composed of over 10 cutting factories in Russia, India, China, South Africa, Armenia, and the Ukraine. Besides, the Leviev Group has a joint brand with Italian Bulgari and a joint venture with H. Stern to manage the network of jewelry stores in Russia and the CIS countries.
The Perm Territory has its own industry mining gold, platinum and diamonds. The deposits are located in the northern part of the region, Delovoye Prikamye reports.
Regions.Ru reminds that Uralalmaz, a mining enterprise, and Kama-Kristall, a cutting factory, are located on the Prikamye territory. Like MJP, both belong to the Ruiz Group controlled by Lev Leviev. The businessman also confirmed his intention to take part in the Euro Towers construction project at a later stage. Besides, Leviev’s representatives continue their active moves toward constructing a garbage processing factory in Perm. Under the investment agreement, the winning party must invest at least 700 million roubles into the construction of garbage processing factories.
“It is possible that after new production facilities will be put into operation in the Perm Territory the jewelry market will become more saturated,” says Nina Chkheidze, General Manager of the Ametist jewelry store in Perm. “However, one should not expect any radical changes. In the first place, these two enterprises (MJP and Lukas-Zoloto) are already represented in the Perm Territory. In the second place, they already have their own jewelry network of boutiques selling a major part of their products. Our store, for instance, does not buy these products. It does not because among other things their prices are rather high. I wonder whether Moscow jewelers will agree to move to Perm. Among other things this will influence the product range and quality.”

Penza is also looking to Leviev, but as a developer and tenant builder. In July, Victor Borozdin, Regional Development Director of AFI Development, held a meeting with Roman Chernov, Head of the Penza Administration. According to the PenzaNews information agency, the parties discussed matters related to construction and assets realignment in the fields of commercial real estate and housing.
AFI Development, which was established in 2001 to manage Leviev’s Russian assets and to implement developer projects, is currently drawing a bead on large Russian cities, being engaged in 24 projects in Russia dealing with residential and commercial estate spread on a total area of 3.6 million square meters.

Meanwhile, as it was reported by RosBuisinessConsulting, the U.N. Children’s Fund (UNICEF) refused to cooperate with Leviev due to his possible involvement in the construction of new Israeli homes in the West Bank of the Jordan River. In particular, the fund refused to accept any donations from the businessman and his companies.
The reason behind this decision was the suspicion that Danya Cebus was involved in the construction of Israeli settlements in the West Bank of the Jordan River considered illegal by the U.N. Danya Cebus is a unit of the Africa Israel Investments Holding controlled by Leviev and, according to Arab human rights activists, bears a relation to the construction of homes on the territories occupied by Israel, Reuters reports.
For a long time, Lev Leviev financed the United Nations Children’s Fund: he made personal donations to it and once sponsored one of the Fund’s charity events. It was also reported that the Arab League intends to blacklist the companies owned by Lev Leviev.
According to Vzglyad, a Russian TV channel, these rumors spread just several days after the UNICEF released a statement on cutting all the relations with Leviev. The news about the move prepared by the League of Arab States broke out on the background of statements about Leviev’s intentions to open two jewelry stores in the United Arab Emirates.

All this did not hamper the opening of Leviev’s first diamond boutique in Moscow. On July 1, the company issued a press release to this effect.
Besides the richest selection of jewels, the store will present collections of men’s and women’s watches made by Leviev’s trading house, Jewish.ru reports with reference to Diamonds.net.
“We are excited to open in Moscow, whose wealth has grown phenomenally in just a few years,” says Thierry Chaunu, LLG CEO. “Moscow is home to some of the savviest and wealthiest connoisseurs anywhere in the world.”
Leviev’s boutique in Moscow displaying the largest collections of the most diverse and rarest diamonds will be the third biggest outlet of his diamond holding. Two diamond boutiques of the Leviev Group are successfully operating in Old Bond Street in London and in Madison Avenue in New York. The Leviev Group’s London store was opened in 2006 and their New York store followed a year later, in 2007, the press release says.
It is noteworthy that this piece of news, unlike Leviev’s project in Perm, was not widely circulated in the press.