Day: December 14, 2024

Abkhaz ex-president’s property

Opposition Telegram channels in Abkhazia claim that during his time in office, former President Aslan Bzhania acquired real estate worth a total of 1.5 billion rubles [over $14 million].

The opposition supports its claims with documents shared with the media.

Among them is a purchase agreement for a 165-square-meter apartment in central Moscow valued at 100 million rubles [around $957,000]. The agreement was signed on 12 August 2024, as Abkhazia was already sinking into a severe political and economic crisis due to deteriorating relations with Russia.

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It is possible that the actual price of the apartment is significantly higher than stated in the agreement, as Abkhazian media discovered a listing for a similar apartment in the same building priced at 190 million rubles [around $1.819 million].

Officially, the buyer was listed as Leon Kirtbaya, the nephew of Aslan Bzhania’s wife, while the transaction was executed on his behalf by the ex-president’s son, Maxim Bzhania.

The media also highlights that the deal was made at a time when the Abkhazian government should have been preparing for the harsh winter and securing funds to purchase electricity from Russia. These funds, incidentally, were never secured, leaving the republic in an energy crisis, with residents enduring blackouts for up to 10 hours a day.

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This and other real estate purchase agreements were discovered in Bzhania’s office after opposition forces stormed the government complex on 15 November.

According to opposition members, over the past four years, Bzhania’s family has acquired at least three additional luxury properties:

• Another apartment in Moscow, over 350 square meters in size;
• A country house in the Moscow region;
• An apartment in Sochi.

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Thus, the total market value of real estate in Russia and Abkhazia acquired by Aslan Bzhania during his presidency is preliminarily estimated to reach 1.5 billion rubles.

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