Kiwi connection

When Mikhail Prokhorov was busy buying assets after the credit crunch, one of his purchases was a half-stake in Renaissance Capital, one of Russia's largest investment banks

The bank was founded by New Zealand multimillionaire Stephen Jennings, who went to Russia in 1992 as the country began privatising state-owned businesses, and stayed on to form his own banking and finance group.

Prokhorov paid US$500 million (about $725 million at the time) in September 2008 for his share in the bank - a fraction of the business' estimated value before the credit crunch. Jennings remains as chief executive.

Although the deal may have been a bargain, it has also threatened Prokhorov's hopes of making a splash in the United States by buying the New Jersey Nets basketball team.

New Jersey Congressman Bill Pascrell jnr has demanded the National Basketball Association investigate Prokhorov's affairs to decide if he should be allowed to own a US sports team.

He has cited Renaissance Capital's business dealings in Zimbabwe, and wants an investigation to find out whether those relationships violated US sanctions against the Mugabe regime.

Prokhorov says his companies have complied with all US and European rules on Zimbabwe and have not dealt with people or companies on the sanctions list.