Russian network: the assets of Putin’s confidants

What does Vladimir Putin actually own? A non-public email domain raises questions because it connects yachts, palaces, hotels, jets and bank accounts of many of his confidants.

When the Russian head of state was personally sanctioned shortly after the invasion of Ukraine, it was initially thought to be a rather symbolic act – because Vladimir Putin does not have any assets worth mentioning on paper. Nevertheless, there is a luxurious palace on the Black Sea that is attributed to him in the media, and just before the outbreak of the war, a yacht said to belong to him quickly sailed back to Russia from Europe.

Former Putin confidants who have become whistleblowers have described the Putin system in the past as follows: Close friends and confidants of the Russian head of state, often oligarchs from his inner circle, own palaces, yachts or other assets and he can access them at any time. Indications of such a possible system could also be found in the Panama Papers. After the reports about the palace on the Black Sea in southern Russia, Putin’s close friend Arkady Rotenberg was quick to publicly declare that the palace belonged to him and not to the Russian president.

More than 80 companies

Research carried out by the journalist network Organized Crime ans Corruption Reporting Project, OCCRP for short, and the online medium Meduza with numerous media partners, including NDR and WDRInterestingly, many different assets that have been repeatedly attributed to Putin in the media are now managed via a common infrastructure: They all appear to use the same domain called “LLCInvest.ru”. Leaked email data shows that this Internet domain and associated email addresses are used to manage many companies that hold assets belonging to Putin’s confidants, including the luxury Black Sea Palace. More than 4.5 billion US dollars seem to be slumbering in this LLC investment system, which consists of more than 80 companies.

In addition to the palace, the OCCRP found a villa north of Saint Petersburg, Putin’s home, within the LLC Invest infrastructure, which is popularly known as “Putin’s Dacha” because he is said to use it again and again. There was also a holiday home near the Finnish border, a winter sports resort where Putin’s daughter got married, a yacht and even an airline with several Falcon machines.

All of these companies appear to be either managed from LLC-Invest email addresses or using the LLC-Invest domain themselves. The reporters also found money: several non-profit organizations in Russia, which otherwise have little publicity, also used the LLC-Invest structure and had surprisingly well-stocked bank accounts. One, which translates to “Development of Agricultural Initiatives,” and was founded by Gennady Timchenko, an oligarch and Putin friend, among others, held accounts worth the equivalent of hundreds of millions of dollars. Gennady Timchenko did not want to comment on this.

“I only sign paper”

“This LLC Invest looks like a cooperative or an association where members can share and exchange assets,” said a corruption expert from Russia, who wished to remain anonymous. Not only do the LLC Invest companies have the domain and e-mail addresses in common: they sometimes also share managing directors and postal addresses. OCCRP reporters also called some of the CEOs of LLC invest firms – no one wanted to be associated with Putin’s fortune. “I only sign paper,” said one. “Do you know that sometimes even homeless people are registered as CEOs of companies? I’m not homeless, but like them, I just sign papers and don’t bother with the details.” In fact, there had previously been cases where the passports and signatures of homeless people had been exposed in the concealment of Russian assets and money laundering.

Another indication that many of these assets could at least serve the Russian leader himself is Bank Rossiya – its employees often act as directors for LLC invest firms, and the domain and email addresses are also provided by a company , which is owned by Bank Rossiya. It’s also called “Putin’s Bank” in the media because it belongs to his closest confidants, including Yury Kovalchuk. A former expert from the American sanctions authority OFAC, who wished to remain anonymous, commented on the revelations surrounding LLC Invest that the construct looked very suspicious. “It’s hard to find an innocuous explanation for all of this,” he says. With regard to the sanctioned oligarchs who are connected to LLC Invest and Bank Rossya, he also sees the danger of sanctions being circumvented.

Because: In the meantime, all close confidants from Putin’s inner circle, his family members, even an alleged lover of the president have been sanctioned – also by the European Union. Many of these names can also be found on the LLC Invest network. “We have a dramatically large and complex sanctions regime in relation to Russian companies, individuals and even the head of state personally – we have never seen anything like this in any other country on this scale,” says Viktor Winkler, a lawyer and sanctions expert.

In other words, anyone who violates the sanctions, i.e. who makes funds or services available to sanctioned persons, can commit a criminal offense under EU law. “It doesn’t matter how many shells shell companies put an asset in, or how many straw people are on paper. If the person who ends up owning an asset – say yachts or mansions – is sanctioned, that needs to be enforced become,” says Winkler.

Putin: No connection to assets

In Germany, the second law on the enforcement of sanctions is now to be launched. “Now, for the first time, assets of unclear origin are being addressed, such as airplanes, houses or yachts,” said Konrad Duffy from the Finanzwende citizens’ movement. The German economy is still struggling in this regard at the moment: “Although the oligarchs from Putin’s closest circle are also sanctioned, we have seen in recent years how easy it is to set up sham structures and how the ownership of assets is concealed through straw people makes the enforcement of sanctions so difficult at the moment,” says Duffy.

In any case, one person is quite sure that he has nothing to do with the whole thing: Vladimir Putin had his spokesman announce that none of the listed assets belonging to the LLC Invest domain had any connection to him.