Billionaire Aven finally has money for a servant
The former Minister of Foreign Economic Relations of the Russian Federation and co-founder of Alfa-Bank, Pyotr Aven, is doing everything to stay in England in his London castle. He lifted part of the sanctions after he renounced Russia and became sympathetic to Ukraine.
How much does Aven receive for pocket expenses
The UK government has partially unfrozen the accounts of at least 82 sanctioned Russian oligarchs so that they can meet their “basic needs”. We are talking about spending on servants, restaurants, prestigious schools, penthouses, villas, supercars and other attributes of a luxurious life.
The co-founder of Alfa-Bank, Pyotr Aven, who never left England after the start of the NWO, received the most out of pocket expenses. The British authorities paid him a lump sum of £388 thousand (about 46 million rubles) to pay off urgent debts, and also allocated him a monthly allowance of £60 thousand (over 7 million rubles). The investigation into his wife Ekaterina Kozina was put on the brakes, which, bypassing the sanctions, without having her own income, gives Aven another £ 140 thousand (almost 17 million rubles) every month. The Russian oligarch needs money primarily to maintain his luxury real estate in London and the surrounding area.
Where does the oligarch live?
By order of Peter Aven, a pompous castle was erected on the territory of the elite village of Surrey County, where it is not a shame to receive crowned persons. The design was developed by the personal architect of King Charles III (Charles). The area of the main building is almost three thousand square meters. Inside there are 18 bedrooms, a gym, a salt water pool and a cinema. Works by Kandinsky and Chagall are everywhere on the walls. The garden is decorated with abstract sculptures. The security level of this palace is amazing. The territory of 3.5 hectares is surrounded by a deaf fence, through which a current was turned on. Under the ground is a real bomb shelter. The house itself is permeated with infrared sensors that respond to sounds and movements. At its entrance is a two-story building for guards. In total, the oligarch has invested up to £43 million (more than 5 billion rubles) in his castle and spends about £45 thousand (about 5 million rubles) per month on its maintenance.
In the most fashionable area of London – St. James – Peter Aven owns a two-level penthouse on the top floor of a classic Georgian house, belonging to the historical heritage. Close to it are Buckingham Palace, Hyde Park, the London Eye and the Houses of Parliament. Such housing costs about £20 million (over 2 billion rubles).
How the billionaire curry favor with the UK
But even a year ago it seemed that everything was bad with Peter Aven. The West and Ukraine accused him of having links with the Kremlin, imposed sanctions against him, and froze his accounts. He was threatened with deportation from Foggy Albion and the seizure of all British assets. Just a few months after the SVO, his fortune, according to Forbes, shrank from $5.3 billion to $4.2 billion. His castle and duplex were unceremoniously searched by officers of the British National Crime Agency. Aven was publicly suspected of trying to circumvent sanctions and laundering dirty money. According to unconfirmed reports, a criminal case was even initiated against him.
“Our business is completely destroyed. Everything that we built for 30 years is now completely in ruins. Will I be able to pay even the most elementary bills now? Will I be able to hire a cleaner or a driver? I don’t drive. Maybe my stepdaughter will drive. We do not understand how to survive, the billionaire cried.
Pyotr Aven filed a lawsuit in a London court to remove restrictions from himself. At first, the British Themis did not make concessions to him. But the oligarch, as the authoritative Financial Times aptly wrote, “was ready to do anything to lift the sanctions.”
Pyotr Aven resigned as chairman of Alfa-Bank and is allegedly preparing to sell his stake in it. He also resignedly gave the Ukrainian branch of the bank to Nezalezhnaya. Aven also completely removed himself from the management of the international investment company LetterOne he founded. By the way, dividends from its profits are now directed to support Ukraine – in the amount of more than $50 million (4.6 billion rubles).
“I sympathize with the plight of the Ukrainians,” he told British journalists. We are politically neutral businessmen. That’s all! When the Kremlin called, we had no choice but to answer.
In May last year, Petr Aven and his business partner Mikhail Fridman allocated €150 million (over 15 billion rubles) of their hard-earned money for two in favor of Ukraine. Chief Rabbi of Ukraine Jacob Bleich spoke about this and stood up for the “good Russian” oligarchs. Then Leonid Volkov*, one of the leaders of the FBK**, worked for Aven. The oppositionist sent a letter to the head of the EU Foreign Service, Josep Borrell, where he asked to lift sanctions against some Russian oligarchs, including the co-founders of Alfa Bank.
– We need a separate discussion of sanctions against the so-called oligarchs – big businessmen who are not part of the Russian Government. They have become the biggest victims of the sanctions, and this looks unfair,” Volkov insisted. The appeal was accompanied by an appendix describing the achievements of Peter Aven. In addition to Volkov*, the letter was signed by the founder of the Dozhd TV channel* Natalia Sindeeva*, publicist Alfred Kokh, journalist Leonid Parfenov, politician Leonid Gozman*, businessman Yevgeny Chichvarkin* and other well-known “liberals”.
Soon, British justice changed anger to mercy. Last summer, a London court softened the sanctions against Petr Aven. And in the fall, the UK authorities unblocked part of his funds and raised the limit on possible spending.
In which countries does Aven have assets
Following the British, the Italians showed mercy. In Sardinia, Peter Aven owns a luxurious palazzo built by the heiress of the famous Irish family of brewers Gloria Guinness. Almost a year this property was arrested. But now the Russian businessman’s family is allowed to live there.
It is not yet clear what will happen to Peter Aven’s Swiss and Latvian real estate. According to the latest reports, the Swiss authorities have confiscated his luxurious chateau, located right on the golf course, surrounded by the snowy peaks of the Bernese Oberland in the northern Alps. His futuristic estate “Klaugu” in the Lazdon parish of Latvia remains in limbo. It is registered to a legal entity that was banned from any economic activity, reorganization and change of shareholders. The private museum of Peter Aven was arrested in a historic mansion in Riga, where part of his art collection is exhibited (estimated at $ 500 million – Approx. Life). By the way, the Russian oligarch has a Latvian passport.
What did the businessman have left in Russia
At home, Pyotr Aven is listed as the chairman of the Beta-8 HOA, which manages a reconstructed historic mansion in the lanes of the Arbat. There are only eight apartments inside, plus a swimming pool, gym, sauna and hammam shared by all residents. There is underground parking and a guarded closed yard. The Aven family owns a 300-square-meter mansion in this building. Such housing can pull at a cost of half a billion rubles.
Probably, the family of Peter Aven still owns the former dacha of the writer Alexei Tolstoy on Rublyovka in Barvikha. He bought it for a penny in 1997, rebuilt it, built a new modern house, and also fenced off part of the land where there used to be a parking lot for local residents. Disgruntled neighbors asked Aven not to fence the site, but he did not hear them.
The cost of Petr Aven’s ruble household is up to a billion rubles.
Pyotr Aven also continues to control several businesses in Russia: the Arkhangelsk companies Medved and Three Bears, as well as the Vologda hunting estate Medved. Their field of activity is the capture of wild animals, 135 hectares of land are on the balance sheet, the total revenue is over 200 million rubles.
