Dutch investigators confiscated a home near Amsterdam connected to Putin’s son-in-law. Independent Dutch and Russian media have reported that the Public Prosecution Service’s specialized section has taken possession of a plot of property belonging to Dutch citizen Jorrit Faassen in Duivendrecht, a suburb of Amsterdam.
The land parcel was taken over on May 12 according to data from the land registration that the Follow the Money portal’s investigative journalists studied. According to Dutch media reports, Gietrin Investment Ltd. in Cyprus owns Molenkade Ontwikkeling BV, the firm through which Faassen purchased the property. That company has ties to two brothers who are also on sanctions lists and are part of Putin’s inner circle, Arkady and Boris Rotenberg.
Thomas Grentzius, a former Molenkade Ontwikkeling director who is married to Faassen’s cousin, said to Follow the Money that Faassen requested him to join the board of the business and instructed him to purchase the property in 2013.
A few years later, Grentzius left his position due to his worry about Faassen’s circumstances. In 2019, Faassen was appointed corporate director, and he paid himself EUR 450k for the land. Two years later, he submitted an application for a license to build a house and numerous offices on the site, but Duivendrecht halted the procedure when started to circulate rumors regarding the property Faassen, and Putin’s daughter Maria Putina, also known as Maria Vorontsova.
Even if a criminal investigation has certainly begun as a result of these facts, they may not be the only factor in the asset seizure, according to lawyer Heleen over de Linden, who spoke to Follow the Money.
“Of course, it’s possible that he’s under suspicion for anything, like fraud. Faassen may also be under suspicion by the Public Prosecution Service for aiding the Rotenbergs in evading punishment, she added.
Prosecutors declined to comment on the situation.
Recently, Faassen was detained and questioned at Schiphol Airport as part of a probe for sanction evasion. Although Faassen is not known to be on any European or American sanctions lists, a source who wishes to remain unnamed reports that his phone and laptop were taken.
The oldest known daughter of Putin, Vorontsova, and Faassen were long thought to be married. The nature and details of their relationship have been kept under wraps, however they are said to have at least one son together who would be around 11 years old at this point. According to unaffiliated Russian media, the pair filed for divorce in 2022.
