When in 2006, the mansion of the tycoon Herbert Hafta in Washington was sold, it became one of the most expensive real estate transactions in the city’s history – and one of the most mysterious.
House with an area of 23 thousand square feet has 7 bedrooms. It is inlaid with Italian marble, a chandelier that once hung in the Paris Opera and is considered one of the most luxurious in Washington, DC.
According to The Washington Post, the house was sold to the widow Hafta over 15 million dollars in cash, some companies registered in Delaware. But the ultimate beneficiary is still remained unknown.
Now, the documents and information obtained by the newspaper show that the mansion the Russian billionaire aluminum magnate, a key ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin and longtime business partner Paul Manafort – Oleg Deripaska.
Sources Washington Post, knowledgeable about the history of the sale of the house, said that the property owner is really Deripaska. According to sources, he did home repairs and in 2010 several visits to the mansion.
Now the house controls the new York-based company Gracetown Inc. According to open corporate records, chief Executive officer Gracetown — Graeme Bonham-Carter, cousin of the actress Helena Bonham-Carter. He lives in London and, according to his LinkedIn profile, works at Terra Services, which… belongs to a Russian oligarch.
By the way, the mansion is located near Embassy Row in Washington. Live right next to Vice-President Mike Pence, former President Barack Obama, daughter of President Donald trump , Ivanka and her husband Jared Kushner.
In addition, according to the newspaper, 49-year-old Oleg Deripaska, through trust in the British virgin Islands also purchased two houses in Manhattan – the nine streets shopping area with a cost of $ 4.5 million in the West Village (in 2006) and a house worth 42.5 million dollars in Upper East Side (2008).
As noted by Charles Davis, Executive Director of the «Initiative against kleptocracy» at the Hudson Institute, this story proves how rich people can «secretly» buy expensive property, hiding behind front companies.
The status of Oleg Deripaska is estimated by Forbes at $5.2 billion.
Lawyers for tycoon in new York and London and his spokesman in Moscow, didn’t respond to requests for comment.
