There has been a lot of speculation when it comes to the total net worth of Russian President Vladimir Putin and according to The Guardian, a digital trail has revealed around $4.5bn (£3.7bn) worth of assets related to him. The report shows a digital paper trail that connects Putin with yachts, palaces and vineyards reportedly gifted to him by friends and oligarchs. The trail linked all the assets to individuals, companies and charities who are linked through a common email domain name, LLCInvest.ru. The Guardian accessed snapshots of leaked mail exchanges between the various administrators who handle the entities in charge of the assets linked to Vladimir Putin.
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The findings were examined by an anti-corruption expert in Russia who said that the proof found from the digital paper trail hints towards a certain level of “common management”.
“LLCInvest looks most of all like a cooperative, or an association, in which its members can exchange benefits and property,” the expert told The Guardian on condition of anonymity.
Putin has often been criticised for amassing huge amounts of wealth by taking advantage of his presidency but not much proof has surfaced. However, it was denied by the Kremlin.
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“The president of the Russian Federation is in no way connected or affiliated with the objects and organisations you named,” a Kremlin spokesperson said on the topic.
A look at the papers revealed that there were 86 companies and non-profit organisations which were allegedly related to the massive wealth. The investigation was conducted by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) and the Russian-language news site Meduza.
