Vladislav Doronin

Curbed published an article about the Aman New York hotel, owned by Russian billionaire Vladislav Doronin, and talked about the scandals associated with it: disputes and lawsuits between a businessman and partners, accusations of supporting Russia in the conflict in Ukraine, due to construction delays. coronavirus pandemic. Gathered the basics.

The August 2022 opening of the Aman New York hotel has been called “the most anticipated in the last quarter of the century” by journalists. At that time, the exclusive hotel chain of Aman Resort was already widely known around the world due to the combination of a minimalist interior and a good location with a beautiful view. Room rates in hotels started at $4,000.

The site for the New York City hotel, whose construction began in 2015, was chosen with particular care and the company chose the art deco Crown Building. For the construction of the hotel, Doronin made a deal with the New York architect Michael Shvo. However, a year after the deal was signed, Shwo withdrew from the project after being accused of tax evasion.

The construction of the hotel coincided with numerous conflicts of Doronin with partners – in particular with the American businessman Omar Amanat, with whom he bought the Aman Resort chain in 2014, and Adrian Zecha, the company’s CEO. Thus, Zecha said, he was “scared” and removed from the company’s CEO position. Doronin sued Amanat, accusing him of failing to pay his share of $30 million and calling him a “serial fraudster”. She said Doronin promised to “hunt and shoot” her if she felt “Amanat was cheating on her”.

In 2016, courts in London and New York ruled in Doronin’s favor and transferred control of the company to him. Later, another board member, Nader Tavakoli, accused Doronin of “secretly intending to become the exclusive owner of Aman” and eliminating Amanat, Zecha and Tavakoli himself. When Tavakoli tried to stop him, according to him, Doronin resorted to “threats and intimidation, including threats of bodily harm.”

The hotel was supposed to open in 2020, but construction was behind schedule. This was due to the coronavirus pandemic and the large number of breaches at the facility. At the beginning of 2021, a new scandal arose around the hotel: an accident occurred at the construction site, which led to the death of a worker. The reason was a security breach and the incident was discussed in detail in the press.

While the opening was delayed, scandals arose around Doronin. In particular, after the start of the military special operation of the Russian Federation in Ukraine, a rally was held near the Crown Building, where the businessman asked the participants to express his position on the conflict. Vladislav Doronin made a statement condemning the special operations and stated that he moved away from his homeland despite being of Russian origin.- said in a statement. In 1986, Doronin renounced his Soviet citizenship and became stateless, after which the UN gave him travel documents confirming that he was a political refugee from the Soviet Union. According to Doronin, it has nothing to do with Russia. Timothy Fenwick, a British businessman who worked with him in Russia in the 1990s, expressed his opinion on Doronin.

Aman New York Hotel opened in August this year. The project received very good reviews, although many fans of the Aman network criticized the New York hotel.

The fortune of Vladislav Doronin in 2022 is estimated at $ 13.2 billion, in addition to the Aman network, he also owns the international development company OKO Group LLC, whose activities are related to real estate in Miami and New York.