Vladimir Putin has been accused of “funnelling millions” of dollars into a property empire secretly owned by his gymnast lover.
Alina Kabaeva is believed to own a score of properties, ranging from a 20-room penthouse in the Black Sea resort of Sochi, described as the largest apartment in Russia, to a wooden mansion near the Russian president’s villa near Lake Valdai.
A report by Project, a Russian opposition website banned by the Kremlin, alleged that Putin has lavished huge sums in illicit funds on a host of elite properties for Kabaeva. Called by some “the uncrowned queen of Russia”, she is believed to have been in a relationship with the president since the early 2000s, including while he was still married.
