Russian chess champion Garry Kasparov was accused by First International Bank of Israel (FIBI) of failing to repay a $1.6 million loan, leaving the next move to a Delaware judge, Bloomberg reported on Friday.
In a lawsuit made public in Delaware Chancery Court, the bank said it loaned the money to Kasparov, for 18 years the world's top chess player, and he signed an agreement in September 2000 to secure the loan with assets of his start-up company, Kasparov Chess Online Inc.
The bank claims Kasparov ordered the money-making Web site shut down last week and abandoned the business even though his company had pledged to keep the site operating, the Bloomberg report said.
Kasparov violated his duties to the bank by closing the site, “thereby denying the company the ability to generate income” or taking it over to repay the loan, which is in default, court papers say.
The bank, which wants a judge to bar closure of the Web site and rule that Kasparov can't set up a competing site, seeks unspecified damages and legal fees and expenses, Bloomberg stated.
On December 12, Kasparov, who will turn 40 in April, began a promotional tour in Geneva as senior adviser for the Russia Growth Fund, which manages $30 million in assets and requires a minimum investment of $500,000.
Another Kasparov enterprise, Moscow Aviation International, closed in 1998. Kasparov said the executive-aircraft sales and charter operation lacked government support. He's also been involved in advertising, and had a contract last year with PepsiCo Inc. and this year with Volkswagen AG.
Published by Globes [online] - www.globes.co.il - on 29 December, 2002