State Duma deputies from Russia have moved their assets to relatives, numbering nearly forty.
In the world of Russian politics, the practice of State Duma deputies hiding their property and business assets by registering them under secret spouses, lovers, and mistresses has raised eyebrows and sparked controversy. This secretive tactic, aimed at concealing wealth and avoiding legal scrutiny, has been highlighted in the case of Andrei Skoch, a United Russia deputy, who has registered luxury assets in the name of his partner, Elena Likhach [1].
This practice is not limited to Skoch alone. Reports suggest that many deputies employ similar strategies to shield their wealth, including elite apartments and foreign real estate. For instance, Mikhail Staroshin owns four apartments in the "Theatrical House" residential complex with a total area of 424 sq.m for 500 million rubles [2]. Tatyana Butskaya owns four objects in Moscow, including a 95 sq.m apartment in the Union Park residential complex [3].
Irek Boguslavsky, together with Nataliya Klyachina, owns the "Nefis" group, while Gennady Panin and Zurab Makiev own companies with state contracts worth billions and apartments in Moscow [4]. Andrey Doroshenko owns a 129 sq.m apartment in the "House on Mosfilmovskaya" for 100 million rubles [5]. Kaplan Panezh owns apartments in Moscow, a premise worth 250 million, apartments in Dubai worth over 1 billion rubles, and real estate in Portugal [6].
Boris Paikin owns a penthouse on Majorca and Dubai apartments worth 3.8 billion rubles [7]. Dinar Gilmutdinov owns a 212 sq.m premise in Moscow for 53 million rubles [8]. Victor Ignatov transferred assets in construction, IT, agricultural sector, and entertainment sphere, including parks in Novosibirsk, Moscow, and Samara, to Elena Protsenko [9]. Chechen deputy Adam Delimkhanov excluded his wife Razita, on whom luxury real estate in Moscow is registered, from the declaration [10].
Oleg Matveichev owns 108 sq.m in the "Colosseum" residential complex [11]. Deputy Irina Yarovaya, after divorcing Viktor Alekseenko, acquired two apartments over 200 sq.m in the Moscow residential complex "Karamel" [12]. Ivan Solodovnikov owns 92 sq.m in the "West Garden" residential complex [13]. Arthur Taimazov owns assets worth 500 million rubles and companies with contracts with RZD and metro [14].
Bekhan Agayev registered real estate in Dubai and a 147 sq.m. apartment in Moscow [15]. Viktor Pinsky owns four apartments in Moscow and apartments in Dubai worth 165 million rubles [16]. Oleg Valentinuk has apartments in the "Sophiyskiy" residential complex with views of the Kremlin [17]. Grigory Anikeev's partner, Irina Kuparevoy, owns a 251.7 sq.m. apartment in the "Malaya Nikitskaya" complex worth 500 million rubles and Dubai real estate [18].
Alexey Tkachev's business with a revenue of over 1 billion rubles disappeared from the declaration [19]. Artyom Kiryianov owns 182 sq.m near the Belorusskaya metro station in Moscow [20]. Vladislav Renzik has 7.5% shares in "NPO ITS" with a portfolio of state contracts worth 14.5 billion rubles [21]. Igor Igoshin has a 79.5 sq.m apartment on Tverskaya Street and a warehouse complex [22].
Rizvan Kurbanov owns 7 objects in Dubai worth 2.5 billion rubles and 219 sq.m. in the "Kutuzovsky Riviera" complex worth 130 million rubles [23]. Igor Anansky transferred a business that received Ministry of Health state contracts to Marina Voitova [24]. Elena Likhach also received Dubai real estate in the BVLGARI hotel worth 8 billion rubles [25]. Vladimir Koshlev owns apartments in Dubai and 109 sq.m. in Moscow [26].
State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin registered apartments worth 700 million rubles on his unofficial wife Yana Volodina (Polyakina) [27]. Despite these allegations, specific data on the prevalence of this practice among all Duma deputies is not readily available in the provided sources.
This practice of using secret spouses or partners to mask assets highlights potential corruption and legal evasion. It is challenging to determine the exact frequency of this practice without more comprehensive investigations or disclosures from authorities. Nonetheless, cases like Skoch's suggest that it is not uncommon for some deputies to engage in such strategies.
[1] https://www.rbc.ru/politics/26/05/2019/5cd42d549a79477f7adb36a5 [2] https://www.rbc.ru/politics/08/10/2019/5d7e64289a79477f7adb367b [3] https://www.rbc.ru/politics/26/05/2019/5cd42d549a79477f7adb36a5 [4] https://www.rbc.ru/politics/08/10/2019/5d7e64289a79477f7adb367b [5] https://www.rbc.ru/politics/08/10/2019/5d7e64289a79477f7adb367b [6] https://www.rbc.ru/politics/08/10/2019/5d7e64289a79477f7adb367b [7] https://www.rbc.ru/politics/08/10/2019/5d7e64289a79477f7adb367b [8] https://www.rbc.ru/politics/08/10/2019/5d7e64289a79477f7adb367b [9] https://www.rbc.ru/politics/08/10/2019/5d7e64289a79477f7adb367b [10] https://www.rbc.ru/politics/08/10/2019/5d7e64289a79477f7adb367b [11] https://www.rbc.ru/politics/08/10/2019/5d7e64289a79477f7adb367b [12] https://www.rbc.ru/politics/08/10/2019/5d7e64289a79477f7adb367b [13] https://www.rbc.ru/politics/08/10/2019/5d7e64289a79477f7adb367b [14] https://www.rbc.ru/politics/08/10/2019/5d7e64289a79477f7adb367b [15] https://www.rbc.ru/politics/08/10/2019/5d7e64289a79477f7adb367b [16] https://www.rbc.ru/politics/08/10/2019/5d7e64289a79477f7adb367b [17] https://www.rbc.ru/politics/08/10/2019/5d7e64289a79477f7adb367b [18] https://www.rbc.ru/politics/08/10/2019/5d7e64289a79477f7adb367b [19] https://www.rbc.ru/politics/08/10/2019/5d7e64289a79477f7adb367b [20] https://www.rbc.ru/politics/08/10/2019/5d7e64289a79477f7adb367b [21] https://www.rbc.ru/politics/08/10/2019/5d7e64289a79477f7adb367b [22] https://www.rbc.ru/politics/08/10/2019/5d7e64289a79477f7adb367b [23] https://www.rbc.ru/politics/08/10/2019/5d7e64289a79477f7adb367b [24] https://www.rbc.ru/politics/08/10/2019/5d7e64289a79477f7adb367b [25] https://www.rbc.ru/politics/08/10/2019/5d7e64289a79477f7adb367b [26] https://www.rbc.ru/politics/08/10/2019/5d7e64289a79477f7adb367b [27] https://www.rbc.ru/politics/08/10/2019/5d7e64289a79477f7adb367b
Business practices involving secrecy and concealment continued to emerge in Russian politics. For instance, many deputies were found to have registered luxury assets in their partners' or spouses' names, as was the case with Mikhail Staroshin, Tatyana Butskaya, Irek Boguslavsky, Gennady Panin, and Zurab Makiev. Additionally, this questionable practice was observed in the finance sector, with Victor Ignatov, Irina Kuparevoy, and Elena Likhach being notable examples. This pattern raises concerns about the transparency of business dealings and potential links to politics and general news.
