The claims are made in a stunning new video released on Tuesday by the anti-corruption campaigner and fierce Putin critic Alexey Navalny, who is currently under arrest in Moscow after returning from Germany. Mr Navalny also alleges that £1 billion of state funds have been spent on a Black Sea palace for the Russian leader that boasts its very own strip club and casino, as well as an underground ice hockey complex and a vineyard. Mr Putin is rumoured to have had extramarital relationships with the gold-winning Olympic gymnast Alina Kabaeva and Svetlana Krivonogikh, a former cleaner.
In his latest expose of corruption among Russia’s ruling elite, Mr Navalny says that the Russian strongman met Ms Krivonogikh in the late 1990s.
He is believed to have had a daughter with her, called Elizaveta and who is now 17.
Since her alleged affair with Mr Putin, Ms Krivonogikh has seen her financial fortunes take a remarkable turn for the better.
In the film, Mr Navalny claims: “After Krivonogikh gave birth to Putin’s child, a bunch of assets – including a 3 per cent stake in Rossiya Bank – were registered for her – as was a yacht, the 118-ft yacht Aldoga.
“There can be no random women in this scheme.
“This is another example of how Putin’s friends steal from the entire country, and as a token of gratitude they support Putin’s mistress and her child.”
Moving on to Ms Kabaeva, the anti-corruption campaigner alleges that the former gymnast’s grandmother received a flat from another close associate of the Russian leader – Gennady Timochenko.
In addition, Ms Kabaeva was appointed as chairman of the National Media Group, which controls major newspapers and TV stations in the country.
Her official salary is said to be £7.8 million per annum.
The Kremlin denies any of the claims made in the video, with Mr Putin’s official spokesman saying on Tuesday that all the allegations were “untrue” and that the president “doesn’t own palaces”.
He went further on Wednesday, insisting that the president declared all his property annually.
“These are all absolutely unfounded claims,” he said. “This is pure nonsense and… there’s nothing else in it.”
