Although they are sanctioned by the EU, Russian oligarchs continue to have luxury properties in Berlin, an investigation of the magazine also shows. “Spiegel“, whose main characters are always extremely rich Russians from Putin's inner circle. At one time, they bought luxury properties in Grunewald, and today they make great efforts to hide their wealth, writes the German edition, indignantly asking the question “Is the state powerless?“.
„If, for example, in London, the transactions of Russian real estate investors have long caused discussions, in Berlin this topic has never played a big role. It's no secret that Russians have bought many houses and apartments mostly in the western part of the city – but questions about the source of the money were never asked.
In this regard, there have been almost no changes even after the attack on Ukraine,”, notes the article, on which seven journalists worked for two years. It refers to elite properties bought for personal needs or for members of their families, which has made Grunewald a “quiet harbor for Russian wealth”.
„The Heart of Grunewald“ for example, is a gorgeous villa with several suites, including a spa area with a 20-meter pool. At one time, the former ambassador of Russia to Germany lived in one of the apartments, and today the apartments are available for rent for 13,000 euros per month. But who collects this money?
Looking for the answer to this question, German journalists reach an offshore company in Cyprus – endpoint of a complex construction, behind which stands an unknown person from St. Petersburg, his name has never been established.
But the article does not lack names – such as that of Irina Virganskaya, the daughter of Mikhail Gorbachev, who in 2020 bought an object with the adjoining land in this area for 4.8 million euros. The most famous of buyers – as “Spiegel“ - however, is Putin's close billionaire Arkady Rotenberg. His daughter Lilia acquired in 2008 for 1.8 million euros an object on the street "Path of the Wild Geese", but not in her name, but in the name of the company Rotex GmbH, which subsequently became the property of a holding company registered in Cyprus, which is de facto owner of the villa.
The editors of “Spiegel“ however, he comes across a new document that shows that Rothenberg himself is behind the deal. In 2015, he compiled a list of his property, which included the Berlin villa, valued at 10 million euros at the time. It is not clear whether it is still his, the neighbors had not seen anyone living there. But there were luxury cars in the garage, including a Bugatti Veyron.
Whether Rothenberg had a property in Berlin matters to the extent that in such a case he would have to pay taxes in Germany, according to the magazine “Spiegel“ and recalls the investigation that began in the fall of 2022 against the billionaire Alisher Usmanov, suspected of not paying taxes for several properties in Bavaria. It is assumed that the opportunity to use these residences of his was important to him, and the same assumption is also associated with Arkady Rotenberg.
There are indications that for Rotenberg the villa in Grunewald was not just an investment property, writes the German edition and indicates that he also owned another property a few hundred meters from the first one. And Yuri Bukin, a long-time manager in Rotenberg's business empire, also had a property in the immediate vicinity. As it says in the article – Bukin shared with Putin and Rotenberg their passion for judo and hockey.
Bukin is still registered at his Berlin address, but did not respond to questions sent by the German publication. Rothenberg didn't answer either. “Spiegel“ recalls that he has been under EU sanctions since 2014 and could, in principle, continue to live in his home in Berlin, but without the right to sell it. However, he seems to have managed to circumvent the bans – he transferred shares of the second villa to his daughter and brother, who subsequently sold the property.
As for the first one, on the “Wild Duck Trail”, it was also approached deftly – there, Rotenberg did not have to sell anything, because after the increase in the authorized capital of the company Rotex GmbH, the main owner became the daughter Lilia, and the share of the Cypriot holding was reduced to 25 percent. “This rather dubious financial maneuver was certified by a Berlin notary”, the journalists from “Spiegel” found out, calling the notary in question “Rotenberg's court lawyer”.
Immediately before the Russian Boris Paikin, who worked for a long time in “Gazprom”, became an MP in 2017, his mother, who was then 78 years old, became a co-owner of several apartments in this same Berlin area – although officially they were not in her name, but in the name of a company. “In addition to housing, Paikin's elderly mother also managed dozens of arcades with slot machines in Germany”, write the journalists from “Spiegel”.
In February 2022 Paikin was included in the EU sanctions lists, and a few weeks later the mother assigned her share of the gaming rooms to an authorized person. The apartments were sold to one of the deputy's acquaintances, and this time a Berlin notary was found – already another to certify the transactions. None of the persons involved answered the questions sent by the editors.
That is why the conclusion of “Spiegel“ reads: “In the course of the journalistic investigation, it became increasingly apparent how easy it was to outwit the rotten Berlin administration”. But it is not only about the city, but also about the federal authorities: they delayed for too long the adoption of laws that would allow to fight more effectively the financial machinations in the real estate market, and more specifically – with the attempts of rich Russians to circumvent the sanctions.
You can see detailed statistics on average property prices in Bulgaria by cities and neighborhoods HERE