Vladimir Putin in the center of an offshore scandal: #Proekt

The investigative journalists of the "Project" have tried to find out what are the sources of Putin's wealth and how he earns. According to the source, The Russian President Vladimir Putin and Alina Kabaeva, gymnast and likely mother of his children, live together in a residence in Valdai using Putin's funds from the Cyprus offshore company Ermira Consultants - this company is a "common treasury" for Putin and his entourage.

Putin and Kabaeva most often live in a residence on Valdai, which is overgrown with VIP villages around.

To buy luxury real estate, they use Putin's funds hidden in Cyprus. Funds are laundered through the company Ermira Consultants, which has registered shares in important enterprises for Putin.
The journalists met with a former business manager of one of the president's closest friends, who was involved in managing a secret financial network that included Ermira.

The source said that until 2015, the company was owned by a figurehead, a lawyer from Saint Petersburg, Vladislav Kopilov; but in fact, Ermira accounts paid for purchases for Putin and his relatives. He also used this money to buy apartments and houses.

The source of the publication called the company Ermira an "obshchak" [a common treasury of a criminal group – ed.].

Since 2015, the ownership of the offshore company probably passed to the people of oligarch Arkady Rotenberg.

The source said that Putin's relatives personally met with Rotenberg, Yuriy Kovalchuk and their subordinates and told them what they needed.

The journalists also found out that the Cypriot company was enriched by the circulation of shares of the National Media Group, whose board of directors is chaired by Kabaeva.

In 2013, Ermira purchased 7.5% of the shares for 76 million euros, but three months later, it allegedly sold them to the financial structures of Gennady Timchenko [a Russian oil oligarch with close ties to Vladimir Putin – ed.] for EUR65.6 million more.

It should be noted that the ownership of all the real estate that Putin buys offshore belongs to his company or fictitious persons, and not to his direct relatives.

A separate wooden terem [a traditional Russian living quarters built for women of elite background – ed.] was built for Kabaeva and her children on the territory of the Valdai residence, an identical separate house for her personally stands also next to his palace. In 2021, a boat pier was built near Kabaeva’s terem, from which you can swim across the canal and find yourself in a 28-hectare park. The surroundings of the residence are nature reserves, in particular, they include the territory of the Valdai National Park, which is protected by law.
In addition to the extensions to Putin's palaces, Kabaeva has the largest penthouse in Russia. The penthouse area is 2,600 square metres.

The journalists decided not to publish information on the children of Putin and Kabaeva for ethical reasons, because they are minors.

At the same time, the first child of Putin and Kabaeva was born in 2015 at the expensive Saint Anna clinic in Switzerland.

The second child was probably born in the spring of 2019, this time on the territory of the Russian Federation. In 2018, a secret railway was built for Putin, which he uses to get to the residence, presumably in his armoured train.
In total, Kabaeva and her relatives use real estate worth at least USD120 million.