“Putin’s Palace” Sold

Russian businessman, Alexander Ponomarenko, announced that he had bought from another Russian businessman, Nikolay Shamalov, the property near Gelendzhik known as “Putin’s Palace.” Recently, Sergey Kolesnikov, who is a former business partner of Shamalov and is living abroad, published an open letter stating that the property, estimated to be worth $1 bln, is beneficially owned by Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and that Shamalov was only a nominal owner. Putin’s spokesperson categorically denied that Putin has any connection to the palace. In an interview with Kommersant newspaper, Kolesnikov commented that the change of title holder does not address the questions related to the beneficiary of the property or the use of government funds for construction of the palace.

http://www.kommersant.ru/doc.aspx?DocsID=1594565