BIARRITZ: A French activist Pierre Affner on Wednesday made headlines after broking into the Alta Mira villa, owned by the daughter of Russian’s President Vladimir Putin, in Biarritz. He changed the locks and declared the property a sanctuary for refugees fleeing Putin’s regime, particularly Ukrainians.
Affner said that the villa has eight bedrooms and three bathrooms.
Among the discovered documents were those pertaining to Gennady Timchenko, a Russian oligarch, and Kirill Shamalov, Putin’s former son-in-law. These included a copy of Shamalov’s passport and a French translation of an electricity bill for his Moscow residence, possibly utilized for financial transactions related to the villa. A power of attorney from 2009, issued by Timchenko to a French national for villa repairs, was also found.
Among the other things, it was revealed that the villa, initially owned by Gennady Timchenko since 2007, was transferred to Shamalov in 2012. This aligns with claims from 1996 by politician Alexander Belyaev, alleging Putin’s involvement in real estate investments along the French Atlantic Coast, sourced from embezzled funds. Putin vehemently denied these accusations, asserting ignorance of the Atlantic Coast’s location.
During a trial where former St. Petersburg Mayor Anatoly Sobchak and Putin faced corruption allegations, Putin questioned law enforcement’s inaction, challenging the legitimacy of the accusations.
Shamalov’s villa isn’t the sole luxurious property linked to Putin in Biarritz. According to a report by Europe 1 radio citing French secret services, Putin acquired another villa in 1996, previously owned by Russian composer Igor Stravinsky. Additionally, his ex-wife’s house, now owned by her new husband Artur Ocheretny, stands as a third property. Activists painted its walls in the Ukrainian flag’s colors following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
