Random People Start Seizing Properties Belonging to Russian Oligarchs and Putin’s Daughter
A protester broke into Katerina Tikhonova’s villa in Biarritz and a group in London took over a mansion linked to Oleg Deripaska. They want to open them up to Ukrainian refugees.
Pierre Afner, who has been documenting Russian riches in the French resort enclave of Biarritz for years, was arrested on Monday for breaking into the lavish seaside Alta Mira villa belonging to Putin’s daughter Katerina Tikhonova.
As Vladimir Putin continues his senseless onslaught on Ukraine, his opponents continue to chip away at the fortunes he, his family and his cronies have amassed.
Activists have grown restless waiting for the authorities to seize some of their assets and have taken the matter into their own hands in London and the south of France.
Pierre Afner, who has been documenting Russian riches in the French resort enclave of Biarritz for years, was arrested on Monday for breaking into the lavish seaside Alta Mira villa belonging to Putin’s daughter Katerina Tikhonova. There he found documents including copies of Russian passports belonging to Tikhonova and her wealthy ex-husband Kirill Shamalov, son of Nikolai Shamalov, one of Putin’s oldest and dearest friends—both sanctioned by the U.S. since 2018.
Afner also found a vast array of bizarre decorations, including fake songbirds in a gilded cage and rare art, in addition to books in Russian. He posted the treasure trove on his Facebook page just hours before police took him into custody Monday morning.
A small group of squatters also broke into a six-story London mansion belonging to the family of Oleg Deripaska on Monday and hung a Ukrainian flag and banners declaring, “The property has been liberated” and “Putin go fuck yourself.”
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The property, which is said to be worth around $65 million, is located in Belgrave Square, one of the most luxurious addresses in Central London. Deripaska was sanctioned by the British government last week for ties to Putin.
The protesters who occupied the property said they were from a group called No Fixed Abode Anti-Fascists and said they wanted to open the opulent property up to people fleeing the war in Ukraine.
In France, Afner also said he intended to open the villa to Ukrainian refugees. Neither the Alta Mara, estimated to be valued at around $3.7 million, nor three other villas along the coast associated with Putin, including one belonging to his ex-wife, have been sequestered by French authorities.
Tikhonova, who is the director of the National Intellectual Development Foundation, made several appearances at Russian-led business conferences over the last several years. She was also among the first to take the Russian vaccine against COVID-19.
