The Kremlin on Thursday denounced the seizure in France of a villa allegedly owned by Russian businessman Artur Ocheretny, the brand new associate of President Vladimir Putin’s ex-wife.
The property, within the southwestern coastal city of Anglet, was seized in December 2023 as a part of an investigation into cash laundering, prosecutors stated Wednesday.
“Any encroachment on personal property is illegitimate from the onset,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov advised reporters.
“The French authorities are undermining the foundations of their authorized system. We’ve got stated it many instances,” he added.
Nicknamed “Suzanna,” the palatial artwork deco dwelling was bought for five.4 million euros ($5.8 million) in 2013, with renovations totaling as much as 3.5 million euros, in accordance with French media.
The probe got here to mild following a grievance by Transparency Worldwide, an NGO that exposes and tracks property it says are linked to “soiled cash.”
Investigators are trying into whether or not the funds used to buy the house have been obtained fraudulently, though prosecutors have burdened nobody has been formally charged.
Since Moscow despatched troops into Ukraine in February 2022, billions of {dollars} value of Russian property have been frozen or confiscated in Europe resulting from sanctions.
The Kremlin has reacted furiously to the seizures and European efforts to make use of them to arm Ukraine, calling such strikes an “unprecedented violation” of worldwide legislation.