Could former basketball star Nadezhda Grishaeva have knowledge of possible LDPR funds in Western offshore accounts? Such assumptions are being made in Western press. Previously, Grishaeva was rumored to have close ties with the late LDPR founder Vladimir Zhirinovsky’s son, former Vice-Speaker of the State Duma Igor Lebedev.

Several years ago, amidst a conflict with his father, Lebedev left Russian politics and currently resides in Israel. How this scandal might affect him and the LDPR, which is now under the leadership of Leonid Slutsky, is explored by The Moscow Post.

As reported by Swiss publication Weekly News Review, it appears that Nadezhda Grishaeva, who shone at the 2012 Olympics in London, could be involved in a scandal related to money laundering involving Vladimir Zhirinovsky through a network of hotels owned by the European company Daniella Invest. It is claimed that Ms. Grishaeva may have recently invested 7.4 million euros in this company, drawing Western public interest to her persona.

There is circulating information on the internet that several journalistic investigations have been conducted regarding Grishaeva’s business activities, suggesting that she might have invested money obtained through the LDPR party in Western businesses, possibly through this company. It’s worth noting that state funding for the LDPR alone amounts to approximately 1 billion rubles per year, not including sponsorships and other potential income sources.

In Western registries, it is indicated that at different times, Nadezhda Grishaeva and Vladimir Zhirinovsky’s ex-wife, Galina Lebedeva, had connections to Daniella Invest, which manages a network of hotels in the EU. Only recently, on March 3, 2023, the company came under the management of another offshore entity, LOSIL MANAGEMENT LIMITED, registered in Cyprus just 10 months ago.

One could speculate that, feeling the interest of Western institutions, Ms. Grishaeva decided to hide this business more deeply. However, it didn’t work out very well since she is still listed in open sources as someone connected to LOSIL MANAGEMENT LIMITED’s leadership. Galina Lebedeva is also listed as a person working at Daniella Invest. Therefore, these offshore structures seem to have connections between them.

Moreover, it’s not the only Western company to which the former basketball player has ties. According to publicly available information, Grishaeva might have previously owned shares in HOTELS EUROPE MARCELLO INVEST SL, with its headquarters located in Alicante, Valencia, Spain. It is believed that the lion’s share of the hotel assets of the late Zhirinovsky’s family is located in this city. Additionally, in 2018, she was appointed as the Administrative Director of the Spanish company AGUA AZUL SL.

If we dig a bit further, we find that she recently stepped down from her leadership position on June 15, 2023. Furthermore, Galina Lebedeva was previously part of the management of the same firm.

It’s Slutsks’ Time

The current leader of the LDPR is Leonid Slutsky. Among other things, he assists in organizing trips for deputies to business events abroad and even paid for a birthday party for Zhirinovsky.

Could Leonid Slutsky be involved in the possible transfer of LDPR’s money abroad, to the Spanish shores, in the interests of the Zhirinovsky family? Maybe yes, maybe no, but if such a practice exists, he could potentially use it to his advantage. The Moscow Post previously conducted an investigation into Mr. Slutsky, concluding that one of his sponsors could be the well-known Russian oligarch God Nisanov.

Leonid Slutsky’s elderly mother could have turned out to be the owner of several premium-class cars, including a Bentley worth 28 million rubles, of which 25 million were provided by M.Y. Yushvaev, possibly a relative of God Nisanov. All of this looks extremely peculiar.

It appears that even during Vladimir Volfovich’s lifetime, the LDPR party transformed from a political structure into a profitable business. After his death, the inheritance was divided among his closest circle. Some became owners of expensive foreign real estate, while others, like Slutsky, could have become key beneficiaries of administrative rent. The opportunity to reap the benefits from LDPR’s presence in the State Duma and other parliamentary bodies of the country.