Sibur, one of Russia’s largest companies, has previously unknown involvement with two properties that have been linked to President Putin, one in Russia’s far northwest and the other on the sunny shores of the Black Sea.
An email domain not visible to the public — LLCInvest.ru — helped reporters uncover a group of interconnected companies that hold palaces, resorts, yachts, jets, and bank accounts full of cash.
Even as Moscow governor Andrei Vorobyev has come out in favor of Putin’s war, his brother Maxim, who runs the family fish business, is making investments around the world.
Russian politicians under Western sanctions, financial criminals, and corrupt European officials all own real estate in the emirate, which attracts investors with liberal residency rules and a ‘few questions asked’ approach to regulation.
RCB Bank was set up and owned by a Russian bank dubbed Putin’s “piggy bank.” Despite making moves to obscure its Russian ties following the invasion of Ukraine, current and former RCB executives have ties to the Kremlin and acquired Cypriot passports under dubious circumstances.
The sister of Uzbek-born oligarch and one of the richest Russians, Alisher Usmanov, was added Friday to the European Union’s list of people and entities sanctioned over the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
With Russian oligarchs in the global spotlight and U.K. authorities holding his two executive jets, sanctioned billionaire Eugene Shvidler may be tempted to hide out in one of his US$15-million flats in central London, which have remained secret from the public until now.
Alisher Usmanov, who has been closely tied to top Russian leaders, hides behind trusts, secretive offshore companies, Swiss bank accounts, and his family members to detach his name from his billions.
A luxurious estate on the French Riviera, Sardinian villas, mansions in London and Paris, and a billion-dollar offshore trust –– these are some of the more than two dozen assets that Russian oligarchs have managed to keep secret until now.