One of the richest Russians, Arkady Rotenberg, in the program of the “Mash Telegram” television, which is otherwise inclined to the Kremlin, said that the luxury palace by the Black Sea is in his ownership.
– It’s no longer a secret. A few years ago, I managed to reach an agreement with creditors and become the owner of this property. It is a gift from heaven. This place is beautiful – said Rotenberg.
He also said that works on the property are currently underway. The property is expected to be completed in a few years and become an apartment hotel, reports the BBC.
Rotenberg, 69, is a co-owner of the SGM Group, which is building large infrastructures such as a gas pipeline. It is also known that he and Russian President Vladimir Putin are very close because they have been friends since childhood, and they were also judo partners.
He is on a list of people against whom Western countries imposed sanctions in 2014 over the war in Ukraine, and the United States has labeled him a member of “a narrow circle around the Russian leadership that supports Putin’s projects.” Rotenberg and his brother were also involved in a scandal involving the disclosure of FinCEN documents late last year.
A few days ago, a team of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny released a video of a secret palace by the Black Sea worth more than a billion euros, which is said to be owned by Russian President Putin. The video went viral after it was released, and to date, it has been viewed by more than 100 million people.
In a video conference, Putin denied suggestions that he was the real owner of the palace. As he said, it’s an “edited footage” that is “boring”.
– Nothing that is listed there as my property, belongs to me or my close relatives, never belonged to – Putin said.
A video investigation published by his team two days after Navalny’s return from Germany, determined that it was a property that covers an area 39 times larger than Monaco. According to their claims, the property in the Gelenjik resort was built with illegal funds provided by members of Putin’s inner circle, including the heads of the oil industry and billionaires.
– With that money, they built a palace for their boss – says Navalny in the video.
