The Zazu stallion of an English breed, stolen in the Czech Republic, owned by the head of Chechnya Ramzan Kadyrov and sanctioned as part of his assets, is worth at least $10 million, the owner of the horse said in a telegram channel.
“The media, according to the authorities, announced its cost at $18,000. Surely this artificial underestimation is connected with some kind of financial fraud responsible for its maintenance and care, only a thoroughbred Zazu costs at least $10 million,” Kadyrov said. According to him, knowing the “real price” of a horse, “someone will warm their hands well.”
The head of Chechnya was surprised how the horse could be stolen so easily. He wondered where the guards and the “valiant police” were looking. “In our republic, a car can be left open at night, and then someone takes the sanctioned horse out of the corral, and the law enforcement officers find out about it only after a few days,” Kadyrov wrote. He also added that in this situation he does not believe “in chance”.
The head of the republic noted that Zazu “became the first victim of sanctions” in 2014. Then restrictions were introduced against Kadyrov by the EU. In 2017, he said that he had made attempts to lift sanctions from the horse, but had not been successful.
The kidnapping of Zazu became known the day before, March 7th. A 16-year-old stallion was stolen from a stable in the village of Krabcice in the northeast of the Czech Republic. The police launched an investigation.
The police reported that the horse was taken away on the night of March 4, having removed “a chain with a carbine from the sliding door.” Among the features of the horse are a white star on the forehead and another white mark on the right hind leg below the thigh. The cost of the horse was estimated at almost 400,000 Czech crowns (about $19,000).