FBK discovered that the Russian dictator reconstructed a villa seized from the former Ukrainian president.

FBK journalists – colleagues of the late Russian politician Alexey Navalny - have published an investigation revealing that Russian President Vladimir Putin has built a palace in the south shore of annexed Crimea.

The 9,000-square-meter estate at Cape Aya was raised on the foundations of a villa built for the former Ukrainian leader, Viktor Yanukovich. It cost Russian taxpayers between $125 million and $130 million.

Cape Aya palace in Crimea. Credit: Navalny.com

Before Crimea was annexed, Ukrainian media repeatedly wrote about construction on this site, referring to it as the “Yanukovych dacha.” Previously, a Soviet-era holiday resort stood there. In 2007, the land (about 3.5 hectares) was purchased by the Yanukovych family for $1.2 million.

In 2013, Yanukovych, who was still the president of Ukraine, denied that he or his family had any connection to the villa at Cape Aya.

More to read:
Navalny found mansion and villa of Putin’s manufacturer of missile engines in Britain and Spain

After Russia annexed the peninsula, the new authorities promised to transform the building into a sanatorium but ultimately ceded it to the Department for Presidential Property Management in Moscow.

Later, the unfinished residence was transmitted into the ownership of companies linked to people from Putin’s closest circle — Yuri and Boris Kovalchuk.

Cape Aya. Credit: Navalny.com

According to the Navalny team, construction continued there and the finished building now belongs on papers to a company called Bereg, part of the Golden Gate consortium. It is the same entity that manages the luxury palace in Gelendzhik – which was also built for Putin.

The FBK (Foundation to Fight Corruption) compiled the findings about the Cape Aya palace into a video that is now available on YouTube (and on our website). The investigators have found the general design plan, the room plans, and photograph of the interior. 

More to read:
What’s new in Putin’s palace after repairs: a throne, chapel, cryo-sauna and anus massage tub

In the main building of the complex, they identified a 233-square-meter hall with a dining table for 20 people; a 154-square-meter bedroom with a marble bathroom (50 square meters) featuring a jacuzzi; another bedroom (183 square meters); a private clinic with several rooms; a spa center with a swimming pool; a cryotherapy chamber; a cinema; a billiards room; and a wine cellar.

More to read:
Hamas leaders prefer luxury life instead of relief for Palestinians

The complex also includes a building with guest apartments, on the roof of which a park has been laid out overlooking the sea.

To give a glimpse into the luxury of Putin’s new palace, just think of golden taps in the main bathtub – the 5-piece set costs almost 3 million rubles or $38,000.

According to financial records, construction of the new palace had been funded via businessman Vladimir Kolbin’s company Aratron, with support from Forstis, a company allegedly linked to Yuri Kovalchuk.

The video report below has English subtitles.