France has seized a luxury villa believed to be owned by Russian energy giant Gazprom, as part of a money laundering investigation. This was announced by the Paris Public Prosecutor's Office on Monday. Estimated at around €120 million, Villa Maria Irina – formerly known as Villa del Mare – is one of the most luxurious villas on the French Riviera.
The Paris Public Prosecutor's Office explained that the acquisition of the villa in the name of different companies may have been aimed at concealing the actual beneficiary, Gazprom. The villa and the shares of the owner company were confiscated on February 12.
According to the French newspaper Le Monde, this is the largest seizure carried out by the French authorities since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, which led to several rounds of sanctions against Moscow in the West. According to prosecutors, Russian-Armenian billionaire Samvel Karapetyan, who bought the villa in 2010, acted for Gazprom. (CDU/AFP)
You may also be interested in:
“Typical entrepreneur. Lifelong beer expert. Hipster-friendly internet buff. Analyst. Social media enthusiast.”
More Stories
A boy finds a rare Lego octopus from a container that fell into the sea in 1997
SRF News Contest of the Week – News
Temperature and humidity: Kachelman explains the phenomenon