Moscow: Russian businessman Arkady Rotenberg has claimed ownership of a huge palace in southern Russia that jailed Kremlin critic Alexey Navalny has linked to President Vladimir Putin.
Navalny and his anti-corruption foundation have published a video in which they allege the opulent mansion belonged to the Russian leader. The video has been viewed more than 103 million times.
Vladimir Putin’s alleged lavish mansion on the Black Sea coast.Credit:Twitter
Rotenberg, Putin’s former judo sparring partner who sold his stake in gas pipeline construction firm Stroygazmontazh in 2019 for a sum which the RBC business daily put at 75 billion roubles ($1.3 billion), said on Saturday he bought the palace two years ago.
“Now it will no longer be a secret, I am the beneficiary,” Rotenberg said in a video published by the Mash Telegram channel. “There was a rather complicated facility, there were a lot of creditors, and I managed to become the beneficiary.“
