ACF asks France, Spain, and Portugal to impose sanctions on Golikova's family
October 17, 2022
The Anti-Corruption Foundation has asked France, Portugal, and Spain to facilitate the introduction of EU sanctions against Russian Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova, her husband Viktor Khristenko, and her stepson Vladimir Khristenko. We have sent letters about this to the foreign ministries of the three countries.
In our recent investigation, we revealed that Golikova's family owns golf clubs, hotels and luxury villas in Europe. According to our most conservative estimates, the family's assets are worth at least 50 billion rubles ($800 million). This money was earned through a corrupt scheme. Golikova's family has made a business out of the vaccination of Russians, the sphere Golikova herself has been in charge of in the Russian government for the past fifteen years. Golikova laundered the stolen money in European countries and spent it on luxury real estate.
In Spain, the family of Deputy Prime Minister Golikova owns a luxurious villa worth 10 million euros and The San Roque Golf Club. It includes 500,000 square meters of golf courses, a restaurant, several stores, an equestrian center and a huge clubhouse. There is also a two-story villa of about 1,200 square meters there. The golf club is now being expanded, and five more villas are being built on its grounds.
In 2019, Vladimir Khristenko's company invested 51 million euros to renovate the five-star La Voile d'Or hotel and its accompanying villa, Ave Maria. Golikova's family also owns two more luxury villas in Portugal.
She has purchased these assets with money stolen from the pockets of Russian taxpayers. So we ask the governments of France, Spain and Portugal to seize these properties and take action to put Golikova, her husband and stepson on the EU sanctions list.
This would not only be a fair reaction to corruption and money laundering, but also a clear signal to the Russian political and business elite. They should understand that they can be deprived of access to their European assets for cooperating with Putin's criminal regime. This is a crucial step to destroy Putin's regime and stop the war he has unleashed in Ukraine.