An investigation by Paper Trail Media, OCCRP and Important Stories has revealed that the former lover of a Kremlin-linked oil oligarch Eduard Khudainatovwhich came under EU sanctions in June 2022, owns four villas in an elite Austrian ski resort.
From 2017 to 2021, Svetlana Eliseeva, a citizen of Russia (*aggressor country) and Cyprus, bought four properties in the Alpine town of Kitzbühel in the Tyrol region. Judging by the documents, the total value of the property was about 26 million euros.
Documents obtained by OCCRP show that Eliseeva was Khudainatov's partner for many years, although she denied through her lawyer that they were currently in a relationship.
The newspaper quoted a politician from the local parliament who said that the situation “raises questions regarding the numerous illegal holiday homes and real estate trade in Tyrol” – while Svetlana E. could not be found. The publication wrote that the woman is not listed in the Austrian population register, and “there is nothing about her on the Internet.”
Last month, Paper Trail Media visited Kitzbühel and found the four villas looking empty but well maintained. Neighbors said that the owners did not live there: some saw a housekeeper who spoke Russian and German. On the gate of one of the houses it says “Max Musterman”. This is the German equivalent of the generic name John Doe.
The Austrian real estate register indicates that in fact the plot and several other villas belong to Eliseeva. The Russian woman bought the first property in the Alpine town in July 2017. The house overlooks the Streif, one of the most famous ski slopes in the world, visited by tens of thousands of foreigners every year.
As OCCRP and partners discovered last year, just a few minutes' drive from Eliseeva's villa is a two-story chalet where locals saw Maria Vorontsovathe eldest daughter of Vladimir Putin (*international criminal).
In July 2018, Eliseeva purchased two more houses in Kitzbühel – on the same plot – worth just under six million euros. In May 2021, she bought a fourth villa for seven million.
Khudainatov did not respond to requests for comment. Sergei Etinger, a German lawyer representing Eliseeva, said that although his client did not deny owning Austrian villas, she was “a purely private person” and “was NOT a partner of Mr. Khudainatov.”
“Our client has no relationship and/or contact with Mr. Khudaynatov,” Etinger said.
“Our client purchased the property solely with her own funds and holds it solely for her own benefit and at her own expense,” he added.
Eliseeva bought real estate using the “golden passport” of Cyprus
A few months before purchasing her first Austrian villa, Eliseeva received an EU passport under the now defunct Cypriot citizenship by investment program.
The so-called golden passport, which Eliseeva was issued in January 2017, allowed her to avoid the checks that non-EU citizens are subjected to in Austria when selling real estate. Austrian regulators require people from countries outside the bloc to obtain approval from local authorities before purchasing property. It is granted only if there is a cultural, social or economic interest in the transaction and the purchase will not harm “national political interests.”
Previously, Eliseeva tried to obtain a Maltese passport. This is known from documents leaked from the consulting firm Henley & Partners, which specializes in investment migration; They were donated to OCCRP by the Daphne Caruana Galizia Foundation.
Lawyers prepared an application for her in January 2016, but never sent it. Nevertheless, the document reveals details of the Russian woman’s personal life.
Eliseeva and Khudaynatov are not married, but her two children bear his last name, and he is listed as their father on Russian birth certificates. Internal emails refer to Khudaynatov as Eliseeva’s “partner” who is sponsoring her application.
“For information: Svetlana has never worked,” wrote a Maltese employee of Henley & Partners. — Her sponsor is Eduard Khudainatov. I am attaching his bank details and a copy of his passport to the letter.”
From 2010 to 2012, Khudainatov headed state-controlled Rosneft, one of the world's largest oil companies. According to the leak, Henley & Partners refused to work with Eliseeva because, after the Russian annexation of Crimea in 2014, US and EU sanctions were imposed against Rosneft.
The firm's spokeswoman, Sarah Nicklin, confirmed to Paper Trail Media that Eliseeva approached them to obtain Maltese citizenship. According to her, the company refused to cooperate because its “sponsor was in the management of the sanctioned enterprise.” Nicklin says Henley & Partners did not receive any funds from Eliseeva or Khudainatov.
Khudainatov has long-standing ties to the Kremlin: in 2000, he organized Putin (*international criminal)'s first presidential campaign in the oil-rich Tyumen region. Before that, he built a career in the energy sector: in the 80s he worked for the Soviet Ministry of Oil and Gas Industry, and in the 90s he was vice president of a private oil company. Forbes magazine reported this in 2022, calling Khudainatov “one of the most mysterious Russian oligarchs.”
In 2013, he left Rosneft and started his own oil business, NNK. He later sold part of it to Rosneft for $9.6 billion. In 2022, Forbes magazine reported that the oligarch's fortune was at least two billion dollars.
Henley & Partners wrote that Eliseeva never worked, but pension data obtained by journalists shows that she does have more than 30 years of experience in Russia (*aggressor country) – although this is almost exclusively related to work in companies associated with Khudainatov, including NNK and another private company, Soyuzprominvest, which was once owned by Khudainatov’s brother. (She also briefly worked for another company in 2001, which reporters could not identify.) Pension data also shows that from 2015 to 2020, her annual salary never exceeded $20,000.
Khudainatov became famous in May 2022, when the Fijian authorities, at the request of the United States, seized a megayacht registered to him in a local port “Amedea” worth 300 million dollars. American law enforcement officials said that Khudaynatov is the nominal owner of the vessel, which actually belongs to another pro-Kremlin oligarch, Suleiman Kerimov.
According to media reports, Khudaynatov also owns (at least on paper) one of the world's largest superyachts – “Scheherazade” – worth 700 million dollars. Citing American court documents, Bloomberg News reported that the ship actually belongs to Vladimir Putin (*international criminal). In May 2022, Italian authorities seized the yacht due to Putin (*international criminal)'s aggression against Ukraine.
Eliseeva and her children lead a luxurious life that her official income does not explain
Judging by pictures on social networks and photo reports from events, Khudainatov’s connections with the Kremlin did not prevent his family from enjoying a luxurious life.
In 2019, Eliseeva attended a pregnancy party for her daughter Yulia in London, where guests were served individual jars of Caspian caviar. Two years later, both ladies wore St. George's ribbons – a symbol of Russian patriotism – for the birthday of Yulia's child, which was also celebrated in London. Yulia, who was photographed in a Vogue look at the Chanel show in Paris in 2017, talks on social networks about traveling around Russia (*aggressor country) and the world. (She told reporters she would not be able to respond to requests for comment until later this month and asked them not to contact her again.)
Judging by documents obtained by OCCRP, in Russia (*aggressor country) Eliseeva has three large apartments in the center of Moscow and a house near Gelendzhik. She has several vehicles: two Porsche Cayennes, two Mercedes-Benzes and a Harley-Davidson motorcycle.
The Kitzbühel mayor's office told Paper Trail Media that they are conducting an investigation into the Russian woman's real estate. They noted that they would check whether the villas were used for other purposes.
Nevertheless, it is unclear what consequences Eliseeva faces for her connections with Khudainatov. Representatives of the Tyrolean authorities said that they are not obliged to monitor processes related to potential violations of sanctions – such issues are resolved at the federal level.
The Austrian Office of State Security and Intelligence (DSN) declined to comment.
