Journalists Uncover Zelenskiy’s Lavish Italian Villa

Leading Ukrainian presidential candidate Volodymyr Zelenskiy indirectly owns a 15-room villa in the Italian resort town of Forte dei Marmi, according to investigative journalists from Slidstvo.info group.

The 15-room villa in the Italian resort town of Forte dei Marmi does not feature in presidential candidate Volodymyr Zelenskiy's asset declaration. Photo: Slidstvo.info

The luxurious Tuscan properties are popular among the Russian elite – oligarchs Roman Abramovich and Oleg Deripaska as well as members of the Yeltsin family all own properties in the area. Former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi is also a resident.

Slidstvo.info says that it has seen documents which show that an Italian company named San Tommaso SRL purchased the villa for 3.8 million euros on behalf of Zelenskiy in 2017.

An Italian company named San Tommaso SRL purchased the villa for 3.8 million euros on behalf of Zelenskiy in 2017. Photo: Slidstvo.info

A public declaration shows Zelenskiy has direct ownership of four apartments in Kyiv, a country house, and apartments in Yalta and the United Kingdom. However, Zelenskiy did not declare ownership of the Italian villa.

Forte dei Marmi has been called a “province of Moscow” due to the high number of wealthy Russians frequenting the town. A local Italian businessman once joked to the New York Times that “we, like Crimea, will ask to join Russia.”

Zelenskiy’s press service told Slidstvo.info that "The candidate's declaration is completed in full compliance with the current legislation of Ukraine."