Villa of Russian oligarch seized in Spain”
Spanish authorities have seized real estate linked to a Russian oligarch in an alleged money laundering scheme, following an investigation by the independent Russian Anti-Corruption Foundation (ACF).
Society
Spain seizes property of Russian defense magnate linked to money laundering
Spanish authorities have seized real estate linked to a Russian oligarch in an alleged money laundering scheme, following an investigation by the independent Russian Anti-Corruption Foundation (ACF).
According to the ACF’s June 2025 investigation, Nikolai Kolesov, the head of state-owned Russian Helicopters and closely tied to defense industry magnate Sergey Chemezov, built a network of shell companies which allegedly acquired stakes in Russian defense plants under the guise of selling off assets belonging to subsidiaries of Rostec, a Russian state-owned technology manufacturer.
The ACF said these companies — formally independent but effectively controlled by Kolesov’s associates and family — siphoned billions of rubles in dividends and state defense contracts, later buying and signing off property in Spain, Dubai and occupied Crimea to members of Kolesov’s family.
Posting on Telegram on Tuesday, the chair of the ACF, Maria Pevchikh, said a Spanish court had ordered the seizure of Kolesov’s Spanish property “about a month ago” and imposed a legal ban on its sale or transfer.
She added that the investigation detailed the alleged diversion of revenues from Russia’s defense industry into luxury assets held by Kolesov’s family and associates.
“Based on the results of our investigation, at least an official investigation has been launched in Spain, and perhaps a case has even been opened,” she said, adding that her team plans to “continue to take down Putin’s lackeys and war criminals.”
The Anti-Corruption Foundation team previously reported that Kolesov’s relatives owned property and assets in several countries, with some of the assets allegedly registered under the names of Kolesov’s children, one of whom was just four years old when ownership papers were signed.
Kolesov, a former governor of Russia’s Amur Region, has long been active in the defense sector. Before assuming leadership of Russian Helicopters in 2021, he led Radioelectronic Technologies Concern (KRET), another major Rostec subsidiary.
Besides Kolesov’s properties, the EU says some €210 billion of Russian assets are frozen in the bloc under sanctions imposed after Russia’s 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
