This little girl has quite the impressive property portfolio.
A Russian supermarket magnate and politician would appear to have turned his young daughter into a landlord just 20 days before Russia began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
According to an investigation by the Times of London and the anti-corruption nonprofit Transparency International, Russian billionaire Vladimir Gruzdev declared his 8-year-old kid the owner of his multi-million-dollar London flat in February 2022.
The billionaire, who is sanctioned by Ukraine, declined to comment to the publication regarding the fact that he listed his Kensington unit — which is complete with a parking space, a maid’s room, and proximity to a variety of embassies and celebrity residences — under his juvenile child’s name less than a month before the war escalated.
The apartment was purchased for $2.78 million in 2000, through a company based in the Cayman Islands where, Insider noted, the tax rate is 0%.
Today, considering for both inflation and conversion to US dollars from UK pounds, the outlet puts the dwelling’s value between $5 and $10 million.
Gruzdev is a graduate of leading Russian espionage academy the Red Banner Institute, of which Vladimir Putin is also an alum.
In addition to helping found the successful grocery chain Seventh Continent (in which he sold his stake in 2007, launching him to billionaire status), Gruzdev has also been a member of the state’s foreign intelligence services, a governor of the Tula region south of Moscow, a chairman of the Russian Bar Association and a recipient of an honorary diploma awarded to him by Putin himself.
Ukraine sanctioned him after he shared a statement supporting the war, Insider reported.
Only Ukraine, and no other countries, have sanctioned him.
Gruzdev is far from the only sanctioned individual whose family members were abruptly put in charge of portions of their estate in recent years, the Times of London concluded at the end of its report.
“Every month, new stories emerge about children, grandchildren or partners who suddenly become trustees in large business empires, or become the owners of luxury yachts, planes and mansions around the country. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg,” Dame Margaret Hodge, a member of Parliament, told the outlet of the situation. “Where is the urgency from the government to crack down on this? Until we fix it, new sanctions will be nothing more than a slap on the wrist. We cannot afford to fail Ukraine on this, nor can we continue to be awash with Russian money.”
