VLADIMIR Putin's daughters are allegedly hiding billions in hoarded wealth, even as the Russian president's family have been slapped with fresh sanctions.

The Russian leader is said to hide his money among a network of lovers, children, and other cronies.

Putin is alleged to be one of the richest people in the world with a hidden fortune of £200 billion.

He has two children officially, Mariya and Katerina, both from his first marriage to Lyudmila Shkrebneva.

This week, Putin's older daughters were both hit with fresh sanctions by the US, as officials believe they are hoarding their father's wealth.

However, in 2020, it was alleged he has a third daughter, Elizaveta Rozova, from his secret fling with Russian cleaner-turned-millionaire Svetlana Krivonogikh.

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His hidden love child, 19, now lives a life of luxury in her father's home city of St Petersburg, according to the Russian investigative publication Proekt, which was shut down by the government following the scoop.

Putin's allies have denied that he is as wealthy as claimed.

In 2014, he declared a relatively modest income of 7.65 million roubles (£91k).

"We have reason to believe that Putin, and many of his cronies, and the oligarchs, hide their wealth, hide their assets, with family members that place their assets and their wealth in the US financial system, and also many other parts of the world," a senior US administration official told reporters.

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They went on: "We believe that many of Putin's assets are hidden with family members, and that's why we're targeting them."

But who are Putin's daughters, and what money might they be hoarding?

MARIA VORONTSOVA

His eldest, known as Maria Vorontsova, 36, leads government-funded programs personally overseen by Putin, which have received billions from the Kremlin for genetic research.

She is said to be an expert in rare genetic diseases in children, and also dwarfism, according to reports.

Maria was married to Dutch businessman Jorrit Faassen.

In 2013, the couple were living in a penthouse in Voorschoten, the Netherlands, but the following year, Dutch residents called for her to be expelled following the shooting down of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 by pro-Russian rebels in Ukraine.

The pair are believed to have moved the Moscow the following year.

Last month, it was reported that the couple had split after the war in Ukraine crushed Maria's dreams of opening a money-spinning clinic for wealthy foreigners in Russia

KATERINA TIKHANOVA

The younger daughter, Katerina Tikhonova, 35, is a tech boss whose work supports the Russian government and defence industry.

She started as a "rock'n'roll" dancer before moving into the world of artificial intelligence.

In 2013, his daughter Katerina married Kirill Shamalov, whose father, Nikolai, is a longtime friend of the president.

Nikolai Shamalov is a shareholder in Bank Rossiya, described by US officials as the Russian elite's personal bank.

They were married in a secret ceremony at the Igor ski resort just north of St Petersburg.

It was reported at the time that the pair rode into the ceremony on a sleigh pulled by three white horses.

All the guests invited were sworn to secrecy, and the Kremlin has never confirmed that the wedding took place.

"I have a private life in which I do not permit interference," Putin once said. "It must be respected."

The couple had corporate holdings worth around $2 billion, according to Reuters, mainly from their large stake in Sibur Holding, a major gas and petrochemical company Kirill bought from another long-time friend of Putin, Gennady Timchenko.

Kirill also bought off Timchenko's luxury villa in the seaside resort of Biarritz, southern France, estimated to be worth some $3.7m.

Last month, the house was taken over by pro-Ukraine activists, in response to Russia's brutal invasion.

However, Katerina and Kirill divorced in January 2018, with Putin's former son in law rumoured to have been romantically involved with London-based Russian socialite Zhanna Volkova.

After the split, Kirill was said to be forced to give up his stocks in Sibur, and he lost almost half his wealth.

Their divorce settlement hasn't been disclosed but likely runs into the millions.

Despite that, Kirill is still worth an estimated $800 million.

Putin was reported to be "quietly grooming" Katerina to be his successor.

ELIZAVETA ROZOVA

Elizaveta, also known as Luiza Rozova, 19, is the rumoured love child from Putin's alleged affair with a former cleaner.

The daughter of Svetlana Krivonogikh, who later became a millionaire, is now a fashion designer and DJ.

She often shared details from her lavish life on Instagram, until suddenly taking down the page in the wake of the Ukraine war.

It is unclear where she gets her wealth from to fund her own fashion label, fuelling rumours of links to Putin.

Last year, she celebrated her 18th birthday by DJ-ing at a top Moscow club.

On her cake were the words in English: "Pretty woman turns 18."

Her mother, Svetlana, owns a nightspot featuring "erotic shows".

We believe that many of Putin's assets are hidden with family members.

Speculation also surrounds his supposed secret family with Alina Kabaeva, a former rhythmic gymnast once known as "the most flexible woman in Russia".

Officials have denied that he has kids with Alina, but it is reported that she is in hiding in Switzerland, avoiding any possible sanctions in the wake of the Ukraine war.

A petition demanding she is thrown out by the Swiss authorities has garnered 75,000 signatures, demanding that "it’s time you reunite Eva Braun with her Führer".

Alina retired from gymnastics and took a strange career turn to become a Russian MP.

The former athlete – dubbed "Russia's First Mistress" – the Duma, the Russian parliament in 2007, representing her alleged lover's United Russia party but left years later to pick up a lucrative job running a media company, despite having no previous experience.

In April, Alina's name and picture was dramatically stripped from the website of the media empire she controlled.

It comes after jailed Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny singled out Alina's murky connection with the Kremlin

In a post from his jail cell in remote Siberia, Navalny said the company, National Media Group, "undoubtedly belong to Putin personally" and was headed by his "mistress".

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There was no explanation from NMG for this week removing Putin's alleged lover's name and picture, along with the rest of the directors’ section on the site, leaving a blank page. 

She had held the post of chairman of the board since 2014, despite having no previous media or business experience.  

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