Media: Russian Ministry of Justice issues warning to Putin’s daughter’s foundation
The Russian Ministry of Justice has issued a warning to the foundation “Interdisciplinary initiatives in the field of the natural and humanitarian sciences” (FMI), co-owned by Yekaterina Tikhonova, who is presumed to be the daughter of Russian President Vladimir Putin, reported news outlet Sobesednik, citing the Russian Justice Ministry’s response.
The news outlet sent an inquiry relating to the fact that the foundation does not provide the accounting required by law. The Ministry of Justice responded that the mentioned violations must be rectified by September 18, otherwise the foundation will either be fined (up to 2000 rubles, or $34), or dissolved by court.
According to an excerpt from the Unified State Register of Legal Entities, the foundation is involved in financial services, publishing activities, and operations with real estate and scientific research. The foundation is registered at the address Novinskiy Boulevard 3/1, where the MGIMO (Moscow State University) Graduates Foundation is also registered. Semen Shevchenko, general director of the foundation, refused to respond to Sobesednik’s questions.
Tikhonova also has another foundation - “National intellectual development” (which operates under the name “Innopraktika”). According to the report on the Ministry of Justice website, the foundation spent 646 million rubles in 2016. The foundation’s budget grew by a factor of 1.5 (in 2015, Innopraktika spent 411 million rubles ($7 million USD)).
The foundation’s board of trustees includes Rosneft head Igor Sechin, Rostec director general Sergey Chemezov, Transneft president Nikolai Tokarev, Novatek chairman Leonid Mikhelson, and Inter RAO chairman Boris Kovalchuk, the son of Putin’s friend Yuriy Kovalchuk, amongst others.
According to SPARK, in 2016 the foundation made contracts amounting to 241 million rubles ($4.11 million USD).
Reuters and Bloomberg claim that Tikhonova is Putin’s younger daughter. According to Reuters, she is married to Kirill Shamalov, the son of Putin’s friend Nikolai Shamalov. The Russian leader himself has neither confirmed nor denied this information.