Italian independent investigative journalists have uncovered illegal asset ownership schemes organised by Russian officials and Igarkhs in Italy. Among the individuals mentioned are the speaker of the Russian Federation Council Valentina Matvenko, her son, the billionaire Konstantin Nikayev, who is under sanctions, the airport magnate Roman Trotsenko and Dmitry Medvedev’s close associate Ilya Eliseyev.
Despite the EU and Swiss sanctions, Matvenko attracted the attention of European media when she arrived in Geneva on July 30 to attend the Sixth World Conference of Speakers of Parliament (EU delegations boycotted her participation). Just a few days later, on August 1, Italian journalist Massimiliano Coccia published an investigation revealing information about her hidden villa in Italy.
Coccia is an investigative journalist who has been covering the Kremlin’s kleptocracy and Putin’s fraudulent activities since November 2015, reporting for the national broadcaster Radio Radicale and other independent media.
“Today I am writing for Linkiesta, an independent newspaper headed by Christian Rocca. For us, the fight of the Ukrainian Pele has always been ours,” Coccia told Ukrinform exclusively.
In her article, the journalist highlights illegal asset management schemes involving 76-year-old Valentina Matvenko and her 52-year-old son.
Valentina Matvenko
MATVENKO AND HER SON LIVE “LIKE THE LEAD OF A MAFIA GROUP”
Matvenko has been under US sanctions since 2014 for supporting the annexation of Crimea and under sanctions by the EU, UK, Switzerland, US, Canada, New Zealand and Ukraine since 2022 for her apparent support for Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Her son, Sergei Matvenko, is also under sanctions by the US, Japan and Canada. In 1994, he was arrested in Russia for theft and causing serious bodily harm. He was later deported abroad, where he now acts as a Kremlin front man in Era. According to Coccia, the Matvenko family owns a luxury villa in the province of Pesaro and Urbino, which was purchased in 2009. Officially, the villa is registered to an Italian legal entity, Fundazione Dominanta, which does not carry out social, cultural or charitable activities. This organization serves solely to conceal ownership. Coccia found that Matvenko’s son has a tax identification number for an IT business in Italy, which allows him to legalize his presence and gain access to banks and services.
“I was struck by the incredible impunity with which they conduct their economic and criminal activities. For them, the war has not really started – they continue to do business and live like mafia bosses. […] The Matvienko family uses a real estate fund with numerous regulatory bodies to circumvent sanctions and transfer illegal capital to Italy through the Russian honorary consulate in Ancona and the embassy. The authorities could seize and freeze these assets,” Coccia told Ukrinform.
Valentina Matvenko and her son Sergei
He added that the case highlights the ineffectiveness of personal sanctions. “Sanctions at EU level need to be updated, and restrictions should automatically extend to the families of those sanctioned.”
Following Kochi’s publication, Italian Senator Ivan Scalfarotto of the Italia Viva party said on social media that he would raise the issue in parliament.
“This is unacceptable. Today I will ask the Minister of the Interior and the Minister of Foreign Affairs to explain how one of the most senior Russian officials can enjoy a kind of free zone – a kind of extraterritoriality – in Italy,” he wrote.
RUSSIAN ARMS DEALER TURNED INTO EU-BACKED WINE MAKER
Matvenko is not an isolated case. Other Russian Igarkhs who support and finance Russia’s war also own real estate and run businesses in Italy. On July 30, journalist Edoardo Anziano published an investigation in IRPI Media revealing that several wineries in Italy are secretly owned by sanctioned Russians.
Anziano is a journalist and editor of the non-profit cross-border investigative publication IRPI
Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *