Matvei Michkov Was Reportedly Involved In A Car Accident In Dubai Which Has Now Led To Claims Of Blackmail And Extortion
Icon Sportswire. Getty Images.The biggest issue with your team's franchise star being from Russia is undoubtedly the offseason. This isn't some American kid who is going to be spending his summers on the Jersey Shore. He's not some good ol' Canadian boy who is spending the summer up at the cottage on the lake. Russians love to go on "holiday", and they love going to crazy places. Matvei Michkov, for example, is addicted to going to Dubai.
But this particular trip to Dubai is currently turning into a bit of a mess after Michkov and a friend were involved, and uninjured, in an accident while driving a rental car. According to reporters, Michkov wasn't driving the car at the time of the crash but the car was rented in his name.
First off, if he wasn't driving the car then that's a big time knock to the head he got against the windshield on the passenger side. And according to Russian reporters, that knock on the head could be the least of his worries right now.
Alcohol, prostitutes, documents problems. Just boys being boys, if you ask me. But I don't really know how Johnny Law works in Dubai. What I will say, however, is that part of this is starting to smell like bullshit to me. Especially the part in this write up that says the Flyers would be worried "especially since we knew he had possible behavioral problems at the base". That reeks of bullshit to me, because there weren't any behavioral problems with Michkov the Flyers ever had to deal with this season. All we've ever heard about Michkov's "behavioral problems" were before the draft, and they seemed completely fabricated to tank his draft stock.
And now here we have another report that Michkov is has become a victim of extortion from the car rental company.
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Source -- The situation looks like this. Matvey and his friend rented a car. And there was a traffic accident. Michkov was in the passenger seat, and the driver was sober. Matvey was not tested for alcohol, and he did not drink anything either. From the point of view of UAE laws, there are no questions about him. He did not commit any violations on the territory of the Emirates. He is absolutely clean before local legislation.
Moreover, the owners of the car rental service are illegally holding the passports of two citizens of the Russian Federation. And this is a crime under the laws of the UAE. Moreover, the owners of the service extorted about 100 thousand dollars from Matvey so that information about him would not be distributed to the media.
…The individuals in question may be charged with "extortion," "blackmail," and "money laundering." The latter is due to the fact that the car owners even incorrectly registered the car rental, not including the tax.
So were there hookers and booze in the car at the time of the crash, or was the driver completely sober and Michkov didn't drink anything? Did Michkov "leave the country without certain documents", or did the car rental company illegally confiscate his passport? These seem to be two entirely conflicting reports, which means that the truth is probably somewhere in the middle.
All I do know is this--the Flyers desperately need to get back to playing playoff hockey soon. They can't afford to give Michkov this much off in the summer. You need to build a team around him and you need to build it fast. He wouldn't be able to get extorted in Dubai if he was still in the playoffs right now. So you either have to give Michkov a team he can make a deep run to the Cup Final with every year, or you need to buy him a summer house in Sea Isle or something. Just anything to keep him in America as long as possible every year.