The United States announced fresh sanctions targeting daughters of Russian President Vladimir Putin following uproar over Bucha massacre in the ongoing Ukraine-Russia war.
The daughters of Russian President Vladimir Putin have been sanctioned as the United States believe that Putin’s daughters – Katerina and Maria – are hiding Putin’s wealth.
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Notably, Katerina and Maria have never confirmed publicly that Russian President Vladimir Putin is their father.
Putin’s marriage to their mother Lyudmila, who was once part of the cabin crew with national carrier Aeroflot, ended with divorce in 2013.
Who are Putin’s daughters and why are they targeted?
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According to details in the US sanctions package, Vladimir Putin’s daughter Katerina Vladimirovna Tikhonova, aged 35, is a tech executive whose work supports the Russian government and its defence industry.
Putin’s other daughter Maria Vladimirovna Vorontsova, aged 36, leads government-funded programs that have received billions of dollars from the Kremlin for genetics research, and are personally overseen by Putin, the United States said.
A senior official of the United States administration in Washington DC said: “We believe that many of Putin’s assets are hidden with family members.”
Maria was born in 1985 and Katerina a year later after the family moved to Dresden (then in East Germany), where Putin was a KGB spy.
According to the new sanction package, the United States said that it has reasons to believe that both the daughters of Vladimir Putin are agents in hiding his wealth.
“Katerina described herself as the spouse of Kirill Shamalov, son of Nikolai Shamalov, a long-time friend of President Putin,” a report said.
It added: “Shamalov senior is a shareholder in Bank Rossiya, which US officials have described as the personal bank of the Russian elite.”
Kirill and Katerina had corporate holdings worth about $2 billion, according to estimates provided to news agency Reuters by financial analysts.
Putin’s other daughter – Maria studied biology at St Petersburg University and medicine at Moscow State University, according to a Reuters investigation.
Maria married Dutch businessman Jorrit Joost Faassen.