Nothing is more unnatural than the obvious. And for this reason, it may perhaps be strange to know that the governments of western countries have also worked with social media to sanction the Russian oligarchs. But that’s exactly how it went. Because in order to track down the many movable and immovable assets of the tycoon group close to Putin, the investigators had to hold on to everything. Also to the photos published on Instagram, Facebook and Vkontakte (the reference social network in Russia) of the wives, girlfriends, lovers and children of the oligarch on duty. “To be an influencer, you have to show off,” explained Alex Finley, a former CIA officer now based in Spain who spoke about the investigations he was involved in. The beach photos from thousands of likes in bikinis with friends have become a “weapon” to track down the superyachts and their respective owners. None of the “frozen” dream ships in the various European ports can be attributed directly to the tycoons. In fact, it required thorough research from the 007ers, who had to sift through dozens and dozens of potentially valuable social profiles for investigations and hundreds of photos alongside the classic surveillance cameras.
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“With a photo you can discover everything”
The most striking example is Polina Kovaleva, the stepdaughter of Moscow Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, who was the result of an extramarital affair. Yes, because Lavrov has been officially married since 1971. This is how Polina, who has never been publicly acknowledged, explains that she has no property but lives like a princess in London and shares her dream life on social media. Until, as soon as the war begins, she is exposed on Twitter by one of Navalny’s collaborators. Within days of her case becoming public, she was expelled from Britain and locked up in her £4.4million supervilla where she lived with her mother. A real life lesson. “They don’t understand the safety regulations in place, nor do they understand all the things that you can understand from a photograph,” Finley said. On the other hand, the oligarchs know it well and they stay away from social networks or any other means that could get them into trouble.
The exwife
Igor Sechin, on the other hand, knows the rules of the game so well that his secrecy has earned him the nickname “Darth Vader”. He, head of Rosneft and Kremlin insider, is the owner of the “Amore Vero,” a $120 million superyacht that was confiscated by the French government in early March. But Olga, the oligarch’s former wife, was crucial in tracking down the ship’s owner. A joint investigation by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project and the independent Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta (now shut down under pressure from the Kremlin) yielded a report linking the ship to Sechin, thanks to Olga’s Instagram photos. The images appear to show her and a friend posing on a sofa very similar to that of “Amore Vero” (formerly called “Saint Princess Olga”). Another photo instead showed her lying down, relaxing on the swimming pool of the yacht in question. In another snap, we see the Cayman Islands flag instead and coincidentally the ship is owned by a company registered in the tax haven loved by supermillionaires. During this series of experiments, the land was confiscated. Sechin sued Novaya Gazeta and won the court case, forcing the newspaper to retract. But the French government confirmed the investigation and left the seals on the ship.
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The lover
Once again, the staff of Putin’s opponent, Alexei Navalny, was instrumental in framing Oleg Deripaska. This time the social account to “nail” the oligarch was that of Anastasia Vashukevich, who has repeatedly defined herself as Deripaska’s lover. The document produced makes extensive use of her photos and Instagram videos, which show her on a cruise to Norway in 2016. All the information gathered by Navalny was then exploited by the US government, which was able to sanction the tycoon. Apparently, Deripaska denied, calling the story part of a smear campaign. But it’s just another case that tells part of the incredible story that revolves around the oligarchs. Abramovich stands out among all those who has returned to the news for his presence at the RussiaUkraine peace talks. His daughter Sofia’s social account was also the subject of attention, but it also came from the Kremlin. His post “against Putin’s war” was not liked. Random says he hasn’t published anything since that day.