VLADIMIR Putin's defence minister has made millions through corrupt deals to fund a lavish lifestyle way beyond his official, salary investigators say.
Timur Ivanov, 47, and his glamorous shopaholic wife Svetlana own a huge mansion along with two Rolls Royces and she once went on a £1.1 million spending spree, it's claimed.
The allegations have been made by Russia’s Anti-Corruption Foundation (ACF).
As Ivanov was helping to oversee the Russian onslaught on Ukraine, Svetlana flew into Paris on a shopping spree, the say.
She spent £7,000 in Prada alone and she also bought jewellery at ultra-exclusive, invitation only jewellers, it's claimed.
They allege she launders “bloody money” that her husband has earned from the Ukraine war from her home in France.
READ MORE ON RUSSIA
I had my hands boiled & my face smashed by Putin’s thugs in torture chamber
Pained Putin caught repeatedly rubbing right hand amid ‘cancer treatment’
ACF investigators have lifted the lid on the couple’s lavish lifestyle and in particular the eye watering amounts spent by the couple.
According to the ACF, in 2020 Svetlana alone spent about £1.1 million despite the couple have a joint official income of £260,000.
The couple regularly took month-long holidays a sprawling villa in the south of France where they use a Rolls-Royce Corniche as their run around – one of two they own.
They once spent £150,000 a month renting a villa there and also £82,000 hiring a yacht, documents obtained by the ACF show.r
Most read in The Sun
How Albanian gangs are ruling across UK… but there’s one city they CAN’T touch
Danniella Westbrook works up a sweat on a run in tiny crop top and hotpants
Major burger chain goes into administration with nine restaurants to close
Dog walker, 28, mauled to death by vicious dog in park ‘while walking 7 pets’
A birthday bash she once held in Istanbul cost £157,000 alone.
“Our investigation proves that this is corrupt money coming from government contracts,” say the investigators.
"Now Ivanov is making money by supervising construction projects in the occupied regions of Ukraine."
The ACF was founded Putin foe Alexei Navaly, who is currently languishing in one of the tyrant’s jails after surviving an attempting poison him with deadly nerve agent.
They allege the Ivanovs own several elite estates in Russia “worth hundreds of millions of rubles” and “spend hundreds of millions more on their repairs”.
Among the properties they own is an enormous mansion by the banks of the Volga river.
The couple married in 2010 and were serenaded by German band Modern Talking, who were paid £62,000 for their appearance.
They are regularly pictured at parties alongside Russia's elite, quaffing champagne.
The Ivanovs have two young children together and Ivanova hasMikhail, 19, and Alexandra, 22, are from her first marriage.
Mikhail is believed to have lived with the couple since he was six and he currently studies at Oxford Brookes University, where annual fees are £14,600.
Svetlana – who also uses the surname Maniovich -is known for her expensive tastes and her former husband revealed she demanded around £40,000 a month to spend on designer gear.
The investigators said they’ve pieced together her spending over 12 years using 8000 emails that have been leaked to them.
In there were bills, house blueprints, documents for yachts and villas, payments for antiques and jewellery, details of parties and thousands of photos.
Recent spending includes £75,000 on 19th century furniture, £21,000 on gold statues, £7500 on a gold clock and £6200 on glass birds.
She’s also blown £107,400 on antiques and £11,000 on bathroom accessories
The couple recently treated themselves to £9,500 holiday, which included a £538 breakfast of champagne and caviar one morning.
Ivanov was appointed Deputy Defence Minister in 2016 and though he loves to be seen in military uniform he is in fact civilian.
He’s now been tasked with the reconstruction of Mariupol, which was flattened by Putin’s forces in a brutal siege.
Ivanov is currently making money through the reconstruction of the shattered city, it’s alleged.
Europe imposed sanctions on Ivanov only in October 2022 but the ACF say it’s time Svetlana was also hit with them.
“Right now, Ivanov's wife is spending her blood money in Parisian boutiques,” they said.
“She lives there for months and spends hundreds of thousands of euros on her luxurious lifestyle.
“By buying art and jewellery in France, Svetlana Ivanova launders her husband’s corrupt money and helps him evade international sanctions.
“Timur Ivanov is effectively using France as a haven for the money he obtained by criminal means.”
According to the ACF, the Ivanovs entered into “fictitious divorce” in a bid to avoid sanctions.
Svetlana Ivanova has been approached for comment.
It comes after Navalny's allies alleged one of Putin's top commanders known as General Armageddon lives a lavish life paid for with "blood-soaked" millions.
Read More on The Sun
I’m the world’s best boss – I gave employee HALF my lottery jackpot for helping me
Shoppers go wild for Home Bargains shampoo that’s £10 cheaper than elsewhere
Sergey Surovikin, 56, cultivates a ruthless hardman image to go along with his nickname – sporting a shaved head and stern scowl – and he is in charge of Russia's floundering campaign in Ukraine.
But behind his image as a hard-nosed general is a "crook and a hustler" who has lined his bulging pockets with "blood-soaked" money – living life large along with his glamorous wife Anna.
Source: Read Full Article