A few weeks before the Russian presidential election, the Central Electoral Commission (CEC) of Russia published, this Tuesday, January 30, a document revealing the financial assets of Vladimir Putin – officially a candidate since January 29.
A 77 m² apartment, an 18 m² garage in Saint Petersburg, two GAZ M-21 cars manufactured in 1960 and 1965, a camping caravan from 1987, a Lada Niva from 2009… In addition to these material goods, there are savings of 54.5 million rubles (approximately 560,000 euros) spread across ten Russian bank accounts, as well as 230 shares of the Bank of Saint Petersburg, valued at 280.49 rubles (2.88 euros) each.
Finally, the document, relayed by the Belgian media HLNspecifies that the Russian president earned 67.6 million rubles (694,421 euros) over the past six years – including his salary, bank securities and deposits, military and civilian pensions, as well as property sales.
On paper, Putin’s statement is surprising in its modesty, as it contrasts with previous surveys and the magazine’s estimates. Forbes in 2022, according to which Vladimir Putin would be one of the richest men in the world with a fortune of some 200 billion euros.
A 17,000 m² palace
In 2022, a investigation of a consortium of investigative journalists “Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project” (OCCRP) had shed light on hidden elements of the presidential fortune by linking Vladimir Putin to a cooperative of 86 offshore companies. The journalists noticed that these companies were using the same domain name for their email address, managed by Bank Rossia, itself managed by relatives of the Russian president. The list included luxury properties, yachts, jets, a ski resort, and bank accounts with a total value of around 4.3 billion euros.
Already, in 2021, his main opponent Alexeï Navalny had affirmed that the Russian head of state owned a 17,000 m² palace located on the edge of the Black Sea, with a modest value of 1.5 billion euros. This vast residence, equipped with, among other things, vineyards, an ice hockey hall and a casino, is located on an estate 39 times larger than Monaco.
Alexeï Navalny’s anti-corruption foundation went further in August 2023, accusing the Russian leader of owning at least two yachts with a total value of 600 million euros… without however succeeding in proving it.
Officially, the palace belongs to billionaire and close friend of Russian President Arkadi Rotenberg. The 140-meter-long yacht, named “Shéherazade”, is registered in the name of Eduard Khudainatov, the former CEO of the Russian state oil giant Rosneft, and also a close ally of Putin. As for the ski resort, located near Saint-Petersbourg, it is currently owned by Svetlana Krivonogikh, a former cleaning lady who became a wealthy businesswoman.
As a reminder, in November 2020, an investigation carried out by the independent Russian investigative media, Proekt Media, revealed the existence of Luiza Rozova, daughter of Svetlana Krivonogikh and… Vladimir Putin.