Navalny.com
Lanfranco Cirillo, the architect who designed Putin’s Palace, is a man in trouble. Italy’s tax police, Guardia di Finanza, have seized more than $144 million worth of assets. They have taken fantastic art, properties, jewelry, and even a helicopter from the architect, per Reuters. Cirillo’s lawyer confirmed that his client’s assets had been seized, “The architect, who is in Moscow, is very disappointed by the fact that having bought some prestigious properties and works of art in Italy, and having provided for his wife and daughter are used to argue that he faked his move abroad,” lawyer Stefano Lojacono said in a statement. The lawyer also asserted that his Italian client had been based in Russia since President Vladimir Putin granted him citizenship in 2014.
On the other hand, the architect has always maintained he has no link to Putin. In an April interview, Cirillo said on Italy’s La7, “It’s madness to think that the president of such an important country would need to build a palace for himself.” Italian authorities have said, “In particular, the professional is under investigation for not declaring income for tens of millions of euros from 2013 to 2019, while maintaining in Italy the center of his family, emotional and economic-patrimonial interests.” If Cirillo does lose the case against him, all his precious artwork will be confiscated by the state and ultimately entrusted to Italian museums.
Putin’s Palace is a $1.3 billion estate with its own church, gas station, aqua discotheque, Turkish baths, helipads, and more
The astonishing property owned by Vladimir Putin as his personal Palace cost a staggering $1.37 billion to build. The residence overlooks Russia’s Black Sea coast and is built on a total area of 180 acres. Aerial images reveal the estate is flanked by luxuries all around. From helipads to hockey rinks, Japanese gardens, an all-marble gym, and even an aqua discotheque, the mansion’s owner hasn’t been frugal in creating a dream house. A builder shared with BBC that his first impression was as if the Egyptian pyramids were being built. “I reckon around 1,500 people worked at the construction site at that point. There were Russians, Uzbeks, there were soldiers. There was a rush to get it finished.”
Not only does Putin’s Palace have every amenity in the book, but also a green-tiled church is located on the property, which as per anti-corruption activist Aleksei Navalny, is “the most secret and closely guarded facility in Russia.
This stately estate has been undergoing renovations for the past 15 years. Putin’s Palace also includes an unheard-of gas station, an 80-meter (260 ft.) bridge, and a tunnel inside the mountain with a tasting room.
Visitors are entertained in the main building dotted with amenities like a swimming pool, spa, saunas, Turkish baths, meat and fish, vegetable and dessert shops, a reading room, a music lounge, a hookah bar, a theater, and a cinema. The exhaustive list of features also includes a wine cellar, a casino, and about a dozen guest bedrooms.
