Kiev mayor buys $6 million mansion in Germany in midst of war

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
9 Jan 2024 16:08
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Kiev mayor Vitaly Klitschko buys a $6 million mansion in Germany through a unique debt scheme.

Kiev's Mayor Vitali Klitschko works at his desk in his City Hall office in the Ukrainian capital, on Friday, November 18, 2022 (AP)

Strana.ua cited on Sunday Kiev mayor Vitaly Kiltschko's official tax return after he publicly declared the ownership of a lavish mansion in Hamburg, Germany, worth almost a quarter of a billion hryvnias ($6 million).

Vitaly's brother, Vladimir, owned Maximum I LLC, a US-based company that was transferred to Vitaly in May 2023. On December 20, 2023, Vitaly received the 750 square meter mansion as a debt settlement. According to the document, the exact cost of the house is 227 million hryvnias.

Who is Vitaly Klitschko?

He is a former professional boxer with a record of multiple heavyweight championships. Between 2006 and 2015, the 'Klitschko Era' was used to reference Vitaly and Vladimir's dominance in the field.

In 2013, Vitaly retired from sports and went into politics, becoming the mayor of Kiev in 2014. He previously declared that he lived in Germany for 13 years, and there was intel in 2016 that his wife and daughter lived in a property he owns in Hamburg.

Corruption in Ukraine

Ukraine has relied on foreign aid to pay civil servants since the war.

Zelensky initiated a sweeping military purge in August last year. 112 criminal cases were opened against officials in recruitment centers.

Former military commander Evgeny Borisov was at the center of an investigation last month in which it appears that he purchased multiple properties in the city of Marbella in 2022 and 2023.

It is important to note that two Ukrainian polls published on September 11, 2023, showed that a vast majority of Ukrainians believe that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is responsible for corruption scandals plaguing his administration.