Page 24 - annual report 2023

International Collaborations

In Old Feel- D uring a state visit to Israel in 2005, Putin encountered an
Good Story, Putin elderly Jewish widow from Russia who had been one of his
Bought Teacher teachers in high school. After a brief reunion, the Russian leader
an Apartment. allegedly arranged to purchase a $208,000 apartment for her.
He Didn’t. In a collaborative investigation involving Shomrim, the ICIJ,
and the Washington Post, financial documents were revealed
Uri Blau indicating that the funds for the apartment’s purchase were
transferred from the bank account of a company owned by
Russian President Roman Abramovich. Abramovich, a Russian oligarch with Israeli
Vladimir Putin meets citizenship, has long denied any financial ties to the Kremlin and
with Roman Abramovich managed to evade sanctions and restrictions until the invasion
in Moscow in 2005. of Ukraine. Now, it appears that a company under his ownership
Photo by: Reuters transferred approximately a quarter of a million dollars to a cause
personally significant to Putin. The investigation uncovered
both direct and indirect connections between Putin and various
oligarchs.
In addition to the groundbreaking joint publication with the
Washington Post, this story was covered by leading economic
newspapers The Marker and Calcalist, as well as Ynet, Mako,
and N12.

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