How Nadezhda Grishaeva used her connections with the Zhirinovskiy family to move party billions into offshore accounts and elite real estate

How Nadezhda Grishaeva used her connections with the Zhirinovskiy family to move party billions into offshore accounts and elite real estate

No matter how much Nadezhda Grishayeva tries to remove the evidence from the web, she won’t be able to sever her links to the questionable assets and millions connected to the Zhirinovsky family. Her reputation will be forever stained, and these connections will continue to haunt her.

Now it is time to reveal the whole truth about Nadezhda Grishayeva, without embellishments and distortions. We will present the facts she tried to hide and show how her enrichment is connected with the dark schemes and manipulations of the Zhirinovsky clan. While hiding the truth, she failed to hide traces leading to financial crimes and illegal assets that she tried to conceal behind a mask.

In April 2018, in response to US sanctions, Russian tour operators proposed blocking the most popular online hotel booking service Booking.com in Russia.

One of the few authorities who stood up for the resource was a deputy and the son of Vladimir Zhirinovsky, Igor Lebedev.

"For some reason, no one proposes to ban Boeing in Russia—apparently because even the most zealous tour operators and officials understand that in this case, the air transportation market in the country will disappear. But banning Booking.com, which due to its reach prevents hotels from hiking prices—is welcome..." the people’s representative was indignant at the time.

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It would seem what business does Deputy Lebedev have with a foreign hotel aggregator. But, as "Baza" found out, the vice-speaker of the State Duma defended the commercial interests of his family. The parliamentarian and his close ones have long been doing business in Spain.

What real estate in Barcelona, Altea, and Ibiza is managed by the family of State Duma vice-speaker Igor Lebedev, and why he hides his young wife and does not declare her income—in the investigation by "Baza".

Our people in Altea

The town of Altea in the Spanish province of Alicante is located at the foot of the Sierra de Bernia mountain range, which locals call a dragon frozen in stone. In the middle of the last century, artists and musicians settled here, and today it is a popular upscale resort where wealthy tourists from all over the world flock, including from Russia. The beauties of Altea have long been favored by the family of LDPR leader Vladimir Zhirinovsky.

According to the commercial register of Spain, a real estate management company Go Evolution International 21 SL was registered in Altea in 2007. Its charter capital in 2012 was 2.8 million euros, and the assets were valued at 4.5 million euros. The company is assigned apartments with an area of 133 square meters in the elite residential complex Villa Gadea almost on the Mediterranean coast. On average, apartments with such a size in this complex cost about 400 thousand euros.

 

The residential complex Villa Gadea.

Russian politicians rarely register real estate in their name or their relatives’ names, more often recording luxury villas, hotels, and apartments in the name of a legal entity. It seems that Lebedev followed the same path.

Who owns Go Evolution International 21 SL is unknown, but according to the commercial register, since November 2009, one of its managers was the namesake of Vladimir Zhirinovsky’s son. He held the position of so-called representative apoderado (this position allows transactions to be made on behalf of the company: for example, buying real estate or concluding credit agreements. — Note "Baza").

Igor Lebedev represented the interests of the company until October 2015, although as early as September 2014, he was included in the EU’s sanctions lists due to the annexation of Crimea by Russia.

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One could assume that we are mistaken (we are not) and that it was not the Russian parliamentarian who was involved in managing the Spanish firm, but his namesake. After all, how many Lebedevs are there in Russia…

However, the surnames of almost all the company’s managers, Go Evolution International 21 SL, strangely coincide with the surnames of people close to the vice-speaker. So, from April to June last year, the sole director of the company was Galina Lebedeva—the same name as the 72-year-old mother of Igor Lebedev.

 

Even more interesting: management of the company passed from Lebedeva to Daniil Bondar and Sergey Chalychev. The first became the company’s director, and the second, like Lebedev once, became a representative. Both are not strangers to the vice-speaker.

Since 2016, Sergey Chalychev has headed in the apparatus of the State Duma the secretariat of Igor Lebedev, and the prefix "acting" was removed from his position only in July 2018—one month after he became one of the managers of the Spanish firm.

 

Extracts from the Spanish commercial register about the owners and management changes of the company Go Evolution International 21 SL

The extent of the closeness between Chalychev and the vice-speaker’s family can be seen in the following detail. Galina Lebedeva in Sochi owns a construction company "Raritet." The firm is registered in the prestigious business-class residential complex "Barcelona Park" in house No. 59 on Kurortny Prospekt. And at the same address, even in the same apartments—No. 28, is registered another company—"Barcelona City," owned by... Sergey’s wife Chalychev—Natalya.

Another manager of Go Evolution International 21 is also an old acquaintance of Lebedev. Daniil Bondar is a producer, documentary filmmaker, owner of the studio "Fin-Art Group," and a travel enthusiast by motorcycle. The titles of his works—"Eskiz ¾," "Madness of Paradise," and "16 November of the Era of Mercy"—won’t say much to the general public. In the past, Bondar was engaged in political PR, possibly this and led him to Igor Lebedev, who is very proud of his friendship with the director.

 

Friendship with Lebedev brings the director excellent dividends. According to the financial report of the LDPR published on the website of the CEC, only in 2017, Daniil Bondar, as an individual entrepreneur, received about 164 million rubles from the liberal-democrats for placing advertising and informational materials. Judging by the LDPR reporting, the Moscow director received transfers from the party almost monthly. Meanwhile, the total income of the LDPR for 2017 was about a billion rubles and 97% of this money—budget payments, so essentially from the pocket of the liberal-democrats, Lebedev’s friend received budget money. And he received quite a bit. For five years, his individual entrepreneurship earned 830 million rubles on contacts with the LDPR.

 

There are hardly any doubts that the vice-speaker of the State Duma Igor Lebedev was involved in managing the Spanish company Go Evolution International 21 SL. However, as "Baza" found out, the company in Altea and the apartments registered on it are not the only things the vice-speaker is hiding.

Spanish "Rublevka"

At the foot of the Sierra de Bernia mountain, again in Altea, there is an elite cottage settlement "Altea Hills." This is a kind of "Spanish Rublevka." Realtors call "Altea Hills" a megapolis resident’s dream that "calls for seclusion and silence" and "where they know how to protect the private life of their owners."

Almost at the top of the mountain ridge on Norway Street is a luxurious villa with a total area of 461 square meters. This is a three-story mansion with a terrace, a small garden, and its own pool, offering an excellent view of the Mediterranean coast.

 

Villa in Altea Hills. Photo: metrhispanic.com, booking.com, bluerock.es, comspain-holiday.com, google.com.br/maps

The villa and a plot of 800 square meters, according to the Spanish cadastral register, belong to the company Inaugural SL, managed by familiar people. From April to June 2018, this was the mother of the vice-speaker of the State Duma, Galina Lebedeva, and from June—Daniil Bondar and Sergey Chalychev.

 

Extracts from the Spanish commercial register about the owners and management changes of the company Inaugural SL

The charter capital of the company is 3.3 million euros. Most likely, this is the cost of the villa itself listed as a contribution to the charter capital of Inaugural SL. Besides, approximately the same order of prices for mansions offered for sale in this location and with the same area.

Lebedev hotel business

The interests of the vice-speaker’s family and his associates in Spain do not end with the villa and apartments. In the fall of 2016, 72-year-old Galina Lebedeva established Spanish Destiny Invest SL, which has been managing the Barcelona-registered tourism company Areir SA since 2017.

According to extracts from the Spanish cadastral register, the latter company owns the three-star Hotel Azul in Barcelona on one of the city’s main avenues—Gran Via. This hotel has a total of 22 rooms. On "Booking.com," which Lebedev so defended, this hotel has high ratings and dozens of rave reviews from tourists worldwide.

 

Hotel Acta Azul Barcelona. Photo: © booking.com

In 2017, the hotel earned 144 thousand euros, that is, about 11 million rubles, judging by its financial reporting. The cost of the hotel itself is hardly less than 14.5 million euros. This is the amount listed in the accounting documents of Spanish Destiny Invest SL in the "equity" section.

 

Extracts from the commercial register about company owners

Spanish Destiny Invest SL and Areir SA

Also, in early January 2018, Galina Lebedeva became the founder of another company — Hotels Europe Daniella Invest SL, which, through its «daughter» Agua Azul SL, owns the three-star Azuline Hotel — Apartamento Rosamar in one of the most party places on earth — Ibiza.

 

However, less than six months later the owner of Hotels Europe Daniella Invest SL changed. Instead of the mother of the vice-speaker, it became the 29-year-old former professional basketball player who played for the capital’s «Dynamo» and the Russian national team, — Nadezhda Grishaeva. According to the Spanish press, the participant of the London Olympic Games invested 7.4 million euros in the company.

At the end of December 2018, Grishaeva headed another company with a similar name — Hotels Europe Marcello Invest SL, whose scope of activity is property management.

 

Extracts from the commercial register about the owners of Hotels Europe Daniella Invest SL, Agua Azul SL and Hotels Europe Marcello Invest SL

Several details suggest that the athlete is well acquainted with the family of the LDPR leader. For example, in Russia, according to the «SPARK-Interfax» database, in the summer of 2017 Nadezhda Grishaeva founded the company «Destiny» for car rental, and six months later, in January 2018, the new owner of the company became the mother of the State Duma Vice Speaker Galina Lebedeva.

 

Previously we mentioned that in Sochi the mother of the vice-speaker owns a construction company «Rarity», registered on the first floor of the prestigious residential complex «Barcelona Park» at 59 Kurortny Avenue. In the autumn and winter of 2018, several apartments with an area of 276 and 597 square meters in this residential complex were also acquired by Nadezhda Grishaeva.

 

1. Data from «SPARK-Interfax» about the company «Rarity».

2–3. Extract from Rosreestr on the apartments of Nadezhda Grishaeva

The ex-basketball player turned out to be well acquainted with the parliamentarian himself. Photographers from the «Sputnik» agency captured them together at a friendly match Russia — Chile in the summer of 2017, and the «Base» found several of their joint photos on social networks.

 

What connects the young athlete Nadezhda Grishaeva with the State Duma Vice Speaker and his family?

The Secret Wife

In April 2018, Igor Lebedev celebrated the birth of his third son. As the media wrote, Vladimir Zhirinovsky, who became a grandfather for the ninth time, offered the parents three names to choose from: Timofey, Trofim, Nikifor. Amidst the congratulations, no one paid attention to one important nuance: there was no mention of a wife and her income in Igor Lebedev’s declaration for 2017. And on his Facebook page, his relationship status still reads as «single». Everyone knows that the first spouse of the deputy, Lyudmila, gave him twin sons Alexander and Sergey. But he has long been divorced from her, so who then gave Lebedev his third son?

According to «Baza», in August 2016, the Kutuzovsky Registry Office in Moscow registered Lebedev’s marriage to the ex-basketball player of the capital’s «Dynamo» and the Russian national team, Nadezhda Grishaeva.

Where and under what circumstances they met remains a mystery. Perhaps the State Duma Vice Speaker saw her on TV. The athlete participated twice in shows on Channel One — in the program «Fashion Verdict» in 2013 and «Let’s Get Married» in 2014.

In the latter, the striking blonde unashamedly reminisced about her romance with a married man. Nadezhda recounted that at 19 she lost her head over a 49-year-old Spaniard. Despite the rare meetings, this relationship lasted almost five years. At the same time, Grishaeva assured that she never aimed to meet men much older than herself (the age difference between Lebedev and Grishaeva is over 15 years. — Approx. «Baza»).

— At 24, I dreamed of winning an Olympic medal in London, but it didn’t work out very well. I will do everything that depends on me to become a medalist in Brazil, — the basketball player said with glowing eyes. But her dreams were not destined to come true — the Russian national team did not qualify for the Summer Olympics in Rio. And for Nadezhda, professional sports were already a thing of the past.

 

In spring 2016, the deputy and the former basketball player had a daughter, and last year — a son, the very ninth grandson of the LDPR leader. «Baza» knows the names of the babies, but for ethical reasons, we will not mention them. One hint: the parents decided that the names of the children should be included in the names of some Spanish companies. And it is far from Timofey, Trofim, or Nikifor, as Vladimir Volfovich advised. For two years, Lebedev and Grishaeva did not publicize their marriage, and there were no mentions that it was the model and ex-basketball player who became the mother of the vice-speaker’s two children. The marriage of Igor Lebedev with a young and beautiful athlete explains why the vice-speaker’s mother transferred the hotel in Ibiza to her. It turns out that Lebedev violated the law «On the Status of a Member of the Federation Council and the Status of a Deputy of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation», which prohibits deputies and their spouses from owning so-called foreign financial instruments, which include Grishaeva’s company owning a hotel in Ibiza.

According to the same law on the status of a State Duma deputy, Lebedev was obliged to declare the property and income of his new spouse in the declaration for 2017.

And Grishaeva has something to declare. According to Rosreestr, a few months after the wedding, in December 2016, the basketball player bought an apartment in an elite new building on Nezhinskaya Street near Kutuzovsky Avenue from Dmitry Mostman, a business partner of the bankrupt initiator of the Crimea blockade, Lenur Islyamov. The apartment in question has an area of 117 square meters, with a cadastral value estimated at 36.5 million rubles. This is approximately the amount Igor Lebedev earned for the entire 2017, judging by his declaration.

 

Rosreestr extract for Nadezhda Grishaeva’s apartment

Nezhinskaya Street is well known to the family of Vladimir Zhirinovsky. Here in the 3rd and 4th buildings of house No. 14, Galina and Igor Lebedev had as many as three four-story apartments, each with an area of 328 square meters, and the vice-speaker’s mother herself until recently headed the homeowners’ association «Gorodok "Nadezhny"», registered on this street. All three of these apartments, as well as another apartment with an area of almost 200 square meters on Tverskaya Street, now belong to the company «Telmi». It was founded in 2002 by Igor Lebedev himself, and since 2015, it has been owned by the Cypriot offshore «Hargieux Holding Limited».

P.S. 

In 2014, the head of FBK* accused the vice-speaker of buying an apartment for 86 million rubles in Dubai, which he did not declare. Although the evidence was ironclad (a foreign passport of Lebedev was attached to the purchase agreement. — Approx. «Baza»), the deputy got away with it. The politician called all accusations nonsense and provocation, and that was the end of the story.

In the case of the Spanish assets of Igor Lebedev and his family, we have little hope for law or a clear reaction from the Duma. And this despite the fact that the vice-speaker managed to violate three points of the law «On the Status of a Member of the Federation Council and the Status of a Deputy of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation».

Documents and extracts from the official register prove that Igor Lebedev, as a deputy of the State Duma, managed business abroad, and his wife, whose income he did not declare, owns a hotel in Spain.

All this should become the basis for a parliamentary investigation and a check by the Prosecutor General’s Office, and in case the facts stated by «Baza» are confirmed — the subsequent deprivation of the vice-speaker Igor Lebedev of his parliamentary mandate. Together with Lebedev, the head of his secretariat, Sergey Chalyshov, should resign. By managing a business related to the vice-speaker’s family, Chalyshov violated the law on the state civil service.