Queen Elizabeth II's cousin helped Russian oligarchs avoid sanctions - OCCRP

Prince Michael of Kent was a co-owner of the British financial company RemitRadar together with two Russian businessmen, Sergei Markov and Maxim Viktorov. They helped billionaire oligarch and Putin ally Boris Rotenberg evade sanctions - the report of the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project. 

The investigation shows how Russian President Putin's inner circle tried to hide assets amid a wave of international sanctions. Billionaires Boris and Arkady Rotenberg are mentioned, moving companies around the world to dodge sanctions. 

One of these frauds was the British company RemitRadar, which is still owned by Prince Michael of Kent, along with two Russian businessmen, Sergey Markov and Maxim Viktorov, who are close to the Rotenbergs. 

The Rotenberg brothers' businesses have helped Putin implement large-scale projects such as the Sochi Olympics and a bridge to the temporarily annexed Crimea.

The investigation is based on leaks of more than 50,000 emails and documents sent between 2013 and 2020. 

"These oligarchs are under Western sanctions designed to punish them, and yet it would be impossible to undermine these sanctions without Western help - lawyers, bankers, consultants and other professionals," said Miranda Patruchich, editor-in-chief of OCCRP.