Reported by: Tom Parfitt

A Russian billionaire under investigation in Switzerland helped to finance the Tom Cruise blockbuster Top Gun: Maverick, a US lawsuit has revealed.

Dmitry Rybolovlev is said to have exercised “functional control” over a production company that signed a $200 million deal in 2020 with the Hollywood giant Paramount Pictures to fund up to a quarter of the budget of ten films.

The deal with the production company, New Republic Pictures, was a welcome boost for Paramount when the Hollywood giant was struggling with a fall in revenues and cinemas closing because of the pandemic.

According to documents lodged with the Los Angeles superior court, Rybolovlev moved his assets out of the venture after Russia invaded Ukraine last February and western governments began imposing sanctions.

Read full report: https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/russian-oligarch-helped-finance-tom-cruise-film-top-gun-trslc2f2x