Lavrov's mistress and stepdaughter hold UAE passports

It has emerged that the mistress and stepdaughter of Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov obtained United Arab Emirates citizenship in 2022.

Source: the Anti-Corruption Foundation (ACF) on X (Twitter)

Details: Lavrov's mistress, Svetlana Polyakova, reportedly obtained UAE citizenship "for services to the state" on 28 December 2022.

Her daughter, Lavrov's stepdaughter Polina Kovaleva, became a UAE citizen even earlier in December 2022 on the grounds of employment.

Kovaleva previously lived in the UK for many years, where the ACF discovered that she owned a luxury property worth £4.4 million (around US$6 million).

She studied at Imperial College Business School in London and owned several UK-based companies.

After Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine began and sanctions were imposed, Kovaleva left the UK, took a job at Qatar Investment in Doha, and obtained a new passport.

Polyakova's close relationship with Lavrov was first reported in 2021.

According to Russian media outlet Vazhnye Istorii (Important Stories), she worked at the Russian Foreign Ministry and accompanied Lavrov on trips. Several people listed her in their phone contacts as "Svetlana Lavrova", although she has never officially adopted that surname.

Background: Russian journalists claim that Lavrov has had a mistress for almost 20 years who influences the affairs of the Russian Foreign Ministry, and that Lavrov's lifestyle is bankrolled by oligarch Oleg Deripaska.

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