The Copab villa in Saint-Tropez, which, according to an investigation by Schemes (Radio Liberty), belongs to the Alfa-Bank founder Mikhail Fridman's family, has been seized. It has been arrested in connection with the EU sanctions.
Journalists found out that the villa is registered in the name of the French company SNC COPAB. Its beneficiaries are Mikhail Fridman's daughters Larissa and Ekaterina Fridman; another 1% belongs to his ex-wife Olga Aiziman. Documents confirming the ownership are in Schemes' possession.
Friedman earned from € 180,000 to € 440,000 a month by renting out the villa. The property houses a pool, a sauna, a hammam, a jacuzzi and a separate helipad.
The Russian businessman was one of the first to fall under EU sanctions after the start of the war. It happened on February 28, at the same time sanctions were imposed on the other owners of the Alfa Group consortium - Peter Aven, as well as the friends of Russian President Vladimir Putin Gennady Timchenko and Sergei Roldugin. The sanctions were justified by the fact that Friedman was closely associated with the Presidential Administration and contributed to the 2014 occupation of Crimea.
On March 17, Friedman reported that his bank card had been blocked and his expenses could be limited to approximately $3,300 per month. The businessman complained to Bloomberg he couldn't even pay for cleaning at his London mansion. «Maybe I should clean the house myself. That's fine. When I was a student, I lived in a small dorm room with four other men. But after 35 years, it's unexpected,» the billionaire noted.