Business & oligarchs of Russia in Sardinia

Black list of tycoons

Today more than ever this is the mood of word of mouth: hide, sell shares, triangulate avoid in every way that black list, American, European and British, which would jeopardize a financial chain that the Kremlin still considers essential to keep the “very private” lintel of the former Soviet Union. The first of the great Russian tycoons in Sardinia has the tonnage proportional to his Dilbar, the most impressive yacht in the world. He is Alisher Usmanov (pictured above with the Russian president), someone who shares passions and interests with Putin, with a not insignificant detail written in the cables of the secret services. The tycoon is, in fact, married to Irina Viner, considered one of the greatest gymnastics coaches of the Russian empire. Not a detail on the chessboard of high finance.

The Olympian and the sovereign

Usmanov's wife, in fact, is believed to be the architect of the Olympic ascent of Alina Kabaeva, gold medalist at the 2004 Olympics, indicated by the encrypted reports as the lover of none other than Vladimir Putin. It is he, Usmanov, therefore, one of the most coveted "prey" of the posthumous world sanctions on the landing of the Russian army in the land of Ukraine. From London to Washington, requests for the freezing of accounts, business and the seizure of the assets of one of the men considered to be closest to the new Tsar of Russia follow one another. His biography is studded with steel and social media, mines and media. He was the first to invest in Facebook, over 200 million dollars, owns the steel giant Metalloinvest. For the man closest to Putin, who considers himself Sardinian by adoption, the municipality of Arzachena has also conferred honorary citizenship on him, the estimated assets are gigantic: 16.4 billion dollars.

At home on the island

It is the perfect identikit of the oligarch, the one to hit the Russian president directly. And he, Usmanov, in Sardinia, is at home. For his billionaire yacht, 156 meters long, they even built a special pier in the heart of Porto Cervo. A real ghost town (the photo on the right) worth 800 million dollars. Dilbar, the name of the ship that became a yacht, however, now, it is not known where it ended up. Usually the largest gigayacht in the world, even out of season, when not in the turquoise waters of the Costa Smeralda, hops between Spain and the Mediterranean. This time no, the radars have lost sight of him. He certainly did not leave Pier A in the port of Prince Aga Khan Karim out of concern about the increase in the cost of fuel.

Full millionaire

Even the last time he refueled he didn't bat an eye: today a 500,000-liter refueling would cost him more than a million and a half dollars. Not much for someone who, instead of blood, runs gas and oil. The reason for its disappearance from the sea routes is quite another. The risk is that the post-Ukraine sanctions will hit him heavily, starting with the seizure of economic and material assets. The same goes for the other luxurious vehicle, this time airplane, an Airbus 340-300, worth 350 million dollars, (in the photo) for which Usmanov has optioned the largest hangar at Olbia airport, that of the was Meridiana. The plane, one of the largest jets in the world, just so as not to contradict itself, had its fixed "parking" right at the Costa Smeralda airport. Also in this case it could not go unnoticed, it was so imposing that it didn't fit. The tail of the plane, forced to remain outside the hangar, was, from the beginning, the most photographed of the Sardinian airport. The colossus of the skies has also disappeared. Villa Violina remains in Sardinian land, set in Liscia di Vacca, in the heart of the Costa Smeralda, one of the most exclusive residences of the jet set of unbridled luxury.

The Russian Fort

If Usmanov is certainly, even according to the world magazine Forbes, the most attractive for the post-Ukraine world sanctions, the spectrum of action remains in Sardinia also for the other oligarch who has taken root in the island. This time in the south of the island. Twenty years ago, together with the Russian astronauts, fascinated by the high-density saline pools, a family unknown to most people landed between Pula and Santa Margherita: the Bazhaevs. It was a short step from the holidays to the purchase of the tourist jewel invented by Charles Forte. With an offer of 180 million euros, the Russian brothers snatched the purchase of none other than Gazprom, the Russian state gas, and Qatar Holding, of the Qatari emirs. In order to secure the jewel of Forte Village, in the heart of the most fascinating beaches of the island of Sardinia, the Bazhaev brothers built a real impenetrable corporate network. Almost proof of international sanctions.

Tax havens

To trace the ownership, the Forte Village is officially of the Esmeralda Srl Project, according to the documents in our possession, it is necessary to pass through three tax havens: Luxembourg, Belize and Cyprus. It is here, in this last encrypted register, that Quarmine Limited appears. A holding that in turn controls three other companies, within which two of the Bazhaevs, number one Musa and nephew Deni, emerge. Now in the hands of the Russian oligarch the Palazzo Doglio has also ended, another Moscow tourist jewel in the heart of Cagliari. And it is precisely Musa Bazhaev who is considered very close to Vladimir Putin. The agreement between the two would be very solid, starting with relations with state banks. The last meeting between the Tsar and Bazhaev, (in the photo on the left) managed with the attention reserved to the heads of state, in the oval hall of the Kremlin, had finalized the plan to land in none other than the Arctic. From the beaches of Santa Margherita di Pula to the glaciers of the North Pole to look for Palladio, a precious metal with dizzying revenues. In the list of Russians with their hands in Sardinia there is also Dmitri Goloshchapov. He in Cagliari in 2013 bought the Hotel Mediterraneo. It remained an unfinished, shameful one. In that case there were international tensions and other Russian partners. The men of the Tsar, however, like the island of the Nuraghi.