The Russian opposition organisation Anti-Corruption Foundation has claimed that arms manufacturing magnate Nikolai Kolesov owns five luxury villas on the south-west coast of Mallorca, which he has registered in the names of his children and sister to circumvent the European Union embargo. Kolesov, 69, is the CEO of Russian Helicopters, the main supplier of helicopters to the Russian army, and as such is on the list of individuals subject to sanctions within the European Union for their involvement in Russia’s military aggression against Ukraine.
On 16 December 2024, the Official State Gazette published an extension of the European Commission’s list to include the oligarch because his company is ‘key to the Russian military-industrial complex. The Russian Armed Forces use various types of helicopters and other defence equipment and equipment from Russian Helicopters JSC in their war of aggression against Ukraine,’ it adds.
Maria Pevchikh, head of research at the Anti-Corruption Foundation, together with fellow journalist Georgy Alburov, have published a video detailing their investigation into Kolesov’s properties in Mallorca, which they estimate to be worth a total of around €18 million. In their report, the opposition organisation’s investigators compile the political and business history of the arms dealer, who has been close to President Vladimir Putin for decades, and denounce alleged corrupt practices, which they have reported to the authorities in their country.
The reporters show the exterior of a sumptuous villa located in the municipality of Calvia with 1,200 square metres of floor space and a large swimming pool, and include images taken from social media in which the businessman and his family enjoy the property near the sea. The villa was purchased in 2014 by a Russian electrical connector company linked to Kolesov and in 2022 was registered in the name of one of the tycoon’s daughters, who was then four years old, according to the opposition organisation, which estimates that the house is worth around €5 million.
Journalists attribute the actual ownership of another villa in the same area of the island, smaller (500 m2) and less valuable (around 3 million euros), to the arms manufacturer. It is registered in the name of Kolesov’s 71-year-old sister. In their report, Pevchikh and Alburov explain that they compiled family images of joyful and luxurious celebrations of the tycoon’s family obtained from the social media accounts of an ex-wife from whom he divorced acrimiously.
Their investigations led them to a third property, actually three adjoining houses of about 750 square metres each, built together on a hill facing the sea in the Magalluf area, with a combined value estimated at around 10 million euros. The formal owner of these properties since last year is the youngest son of the CEO of Russian Helicopters, who was four years old when he acquired the property.
The Russian Anti-Corruption Foundation, which attributes other opaque properties to Kolesov in its report and explains that he has taken advantage of senior positions in public arms companies to acquire them, considers him an example of the corruption that keeps Putin in power. With its public complaint, it hopes that the Spanish authorities will investigate the real ownership of the houses in Mallorca registered in the names of his relatives in order to impose the sanctions established by the European Union against businessmen involved in the invasion of Ukraine. According to the investigation, he quietly privatized defense plants, putting them in the names of frontmen and then using the proceeds to buy luxury homes, aircraft, and palaces across the globe.
According to the Insider:
Assets linked to the Kolesov family
Spain (Mallorca)
• A €5 million villa registered to Kolesov’s seven-year-old daughter, Nicole. She was four at the time of purchase.
• A neighboring villa worth €3 million registered to Kolesov’s sister, Lyudmila Tenno.
• Three villas, each 750 m², purchased in the name of Kolesov’s four-year-old son Alexei, who is the godson of former Russian Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov.
Russia and occupied Crimea
• A palace in Yalta, allegedly purchased in the name of a state-owned factory.
• A plot of land in Rublyovka worth 1 billion rubles, registered to Kolesov himself and his factory.
• A private resort near Kazan with a bowling alley, saunas, and shooting ranges.
UAE (Dubai)
• A $25 million villa in XXII Carat Villas, registered to Kolesov’s subordinate Lyudmila Koshcheyeva.
• A neighboring 1,400 m² villa registered to his former mother-in-law, Nella Mazayeva.
• Another apartment worth $10 million (822 m²) in The Residence, registered to his eldest daughter, Anastasia Kolesova.
• A 532 m² unit in the same building, registered to her husband.
Kolesov’s air fleet
• A Bombardier Global Express business jet — $20 million
• A second jet, Embraer Legacy 650 — $10 million
• An AgustaWestland 109 helicopter — $5 million
The entire fleet is registered to an affiliated company called Spetsdostavka. Navalny’s team estimates the total value at around $35 million, or 2.8 billion rubles.
The Insider depends on donations to continue its work: https://donate.theins.ru/en