Putin’s alleged mistress has $100M in ‘shadow wealth’ leaked documents say
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s alleged mistress has an estimated net worth of $100 million in “shadow wealth,” newly leaked documents reveal.
Svetlana Krivonogikh, 46, has been rumoured to be romantically involved with the communist leader since he was still deputy mayor of her hometown of St. Petersburg and reportedly has a daughter with him.
But despite her modest background, the mistress went from living in a communal apartment to owning swanky apartments and a yacht.
Krivonogikh began climbing the social ladder through investments in shell companies in the Virgin Islands and elsewhere, New York Post reports.
In September 2003, an offshore company called Brockville Development Limited bought her a luxury fourth-floor apartment in Monte Carlo. She’s also acquired a flat in St. Petersburg and other valuable assets, according to the reporting.
However, Krivonogikh is far from alone in benefiting from a long-standing relationship with Putin.
For years the Russian president's cronies have moved their funds to a tax haven in Monaco, where lax policies have made the waterfront city a favourite for the wealthy.
Among the wealthiest of the Russian-Monaco circle is Gennady Timchenko, a former Soviet bureaucrat who has been friends with Putin since the 1990s.
The former oil trader with a net worth of $22 billion, was given an export license by Putin in 1991, and later co-founded a Swiss-based oil export company named Gunvor.
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The Russian president has long been rumoured to be a silent partner in the firm.
Putin's family friend Peter Kolbin was also named as a member of the inner circle. Kolbin reportedly took over as director of Leningrad-based International Petroleum Products in 2003 despite his lack of qualifications for the role.
However, Putin has denied ties to the lucrative companies detailed in the Pandora Papers.
But jailed Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny has referred to Putin as “the world’s richest man,” according to The Guardian.
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