Vladimir Putin's alleged lover, former Olympic gymnast Alina Kabaeva, reportedly received £63 million in leftover funds from the construction of a £1 billion palace, according to an investigation by the Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK) founded by the late Alexei Navalny.
The palace, located in the southern town of Gelendzhik on the Black Sea, is officially owned by a company named Investment Solutions, whose shareholders are three of Putin's close associates. The FBK claimed that bank records showed loans from offshore entities in the British Virgin Islands were used to fund the construction.
When the palace was completed in 2023, 6.5 billion rubles (£63 million) remained from the loans. According to the FBK, 3 billion rubles (£29 million) were donated to the Alina Kabaeva Charitable Foundation, which supports female athletes and helped repair a church in occupied Crimea. The remaining 3.5 billion rubles (£34 million) were sent to another charity, Heavenly Grace.
The FBK alleged that these charities served as slush funds, with most of the money deposited in accounts rather than used for charitable purposes. The investigation claimed that only a fraction of the funds was spent on actual projects, such as £288,000 at a luxury watch factory.
Cabaeva, 42, has been rumoured to be in a relationship with Putin since 2008 and is reportedly the mother of his two sons, Ivan, 11, and Vladimir, six. Neither has confirmed the relationship. The palace, which is larger than Buckingham Palace, includes a church, ice rink, casino, hookah lounge, and an underground complex spanning 6,500 square feet.
