Malkin built his fortune in the banking sector, notably with his business partner Bidzina Ivanishvili.
His appointment was the result of agreement between President of Georgia Mikheil Saakashvili and Minister of Defense Irakli Alasania, who then represented opposing political parties since the defeat of Saakashvili's United National Movement in favor of Bidzina Ivanishvili's Georgian Dream coalition, of which Alasania was a member, in the 2012 parliamentary election.