Villa called “Souzanna’, located in Anglet (Pyrénées-Atlantiques) and belonging to a Russian businessman, companion of Vladimir Putin's ex-wife. The investigation must determine whether the funds which allowed a Russian business to buy this vile property were fraudulent or not.
The complaint, filed in 2022 after the outbreak of war in Ukraine, targeted four Russian oligarchs or relatives of Russian oligarchs, according to a source familiar with the matter. The villa, which was purchased for an amount of 5.4 million euros in December 2013, was seized on December 6, 2023, the prosecution said. "No person is currently being prosecuted in this case," underlined the prosecution. The businessman acquired other real estate in Europe, notably in Spain and Switzerland for several million euros. 'His officially known professional activities do not generate sufficient income to justify such a lifestyle with acquisitions worth several tens of millions of euros,' observed Sara Brimbeuf, head of advocacy at Transparency International in France.