Two of Israel's normally publicity-shy Russian "oligarchs" this week surfaced to announce their first investment in Israel since they sought refuge there 18 months ago in the wake of the debacle over Yukos, the Russian oil company.
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Although the Russian tycoons have maintained a low profile since moving to Israel, they have not managed to escape controversy.
Mr Nevzlin's name was among those raised in connection with a current Israeli police investigation into the alleged laundering of at least $500m through a branch of Bank Hapoalim, Israel's largest bank.
"I've had no problems with the authorities," he said. "Everything is quite transparent if you look at my assets. So much time has passed since they started the investigation, they would have had a chance to look at my accounts."
In an indication of how important Israel regards investment, Benjamin Netanyahu, finance minister, recently said the money-laundering case had been blown out of proportion.
"Israel will lose a lot if some TV viewers think that the country does not need immigrants from the former Soviet Union and can afford to reject investments," he told the RTV1 satellite channel, owned by Vladimir Gusinsky, an exiled Russian media magnate.
