Mikhail Fridman first appeared in the Spanish press in November 2002, when Liberian tanker "Prestige" sank off the coast of Galicia. It was transferring 77,000 tons of Russian heavy oil; the cargo belonged to Crown Resources, a company owned by Fridman’s Alfa Group. The spill of that heavy oil contaminated the Spanish coast, and caused a major environmental disaster. The total damage was estimated at 1.5 billion euros. After the disaster, the Spanish El Mundo called Friedman ‘Dirty Michael’.