‘Putin palace’ is mine, says Russian billionaire Arkady Rotenberg

‘I have managed to strike a deal with creditors a few years ago,’ says billionaire

A Russian oligarch has come forward to claim ownership of a sprawling palace on the Black Sea which jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny has linked to president Putin.

Arkady Rotenberg, a billionaire with close ties to the Kremlin, said on Saturday that he became the "beneficiary" of the opulent mansion "a few years ago".

The property hit the headlines earlier this month following a video report by Mr Navalny, Russia's most prominent opposition leader.

Mr Navalny and his team allege the mansion, which they dubbed "the new Versailles", is worth £1bn ($1.37bn) and was paid for "with the largest bribe in history".

A film of the property - which is allegedly equipped with its own ice hockey rink - has racked up over 100m views on YouTube.

It helped to fuel protests in cities across Russia last week, in one of the largest demonstrations against Mr Putin's rule in years.

Mr Navalny's team alleges the property was financed by billionaires close to the Russian president who received it as a gift. Mr Putin earlier this week rubbished those claims, saying that neither he nor his family owns it.

"I have managed to strike a deal with creditors a few years ago, and I became a beneficiary of this site a few years ago," Mr Rotenberg said in an interview posted on the pro-Kremlin Mash Telegram channel.

"Now it will no longer be a secret, I am the beneficiary," he said. "There was a rather complicated facility, there were a lot of creditors, and I managed to become the beneficiary."

He gave no further financial details of the purchase or how it had been funded. The property will be ready “in a couple of years” and is expected to become an apartment hotel, Mr Rotenberg said.

Mr Rotenberg is said to be the president’s former judo sparring partner.  RBC business daily reported that Mr Rotenberg sold his stake in gas pipeline construction firm Stroygazmontazh in 2019 for 75 billion roubles ($990 million).

Mr Navalny was remanded in custody for 30 days on 18 January for alleged parole violations which he says were trumped up. He was arrested after flying back to Moscow from Germany where he had been recovering from a nerve agent poisoning last August.

Following his arrest thousands of people joined unsanctioned protests across Russia last Saturday to demand his release. 

Protests erupted again on Sunday as demonstrators across Russia demand Mr Navalny's release from prison.

Thousands of people have taken to the streets, keeping up the wave of nationwide protests that have rattled the Kremlin.

Police detained over 400 participants in protests held in many cities across Russia's 11 time zones, according to the OVD-Info, a group that monitors arrests.

In the far eastern port of Vladivostok alone, more than 100 people were detained after protesters danced on the ice and rallied in the city center.

The city of Novosibirsk in eastern Siberia saw one of the biggest rallies, with thousands marching across the city chanting "Putin, thief!" More than 50 were detained.

The chants referred to an opulent Black Sea estate reportedly built for the Russian leader that Navalny's team have released a popular video about.

In Moscow, the authorities introduced unprecedented security measures in the city center, closing subway stations near the Kremlin, cutting bus traffic and ordering restaurants and stores to stay closed.

Additional reporting by agencies