Brits demonstrate in front of their apartment

Several demonstrators gathered in London on Sunday in front of a luxury London apartment (worth almost CHF 5.4 million). They chanted slogans like “your father is a murderer” and demanded sanctions against the owner of the apartment.

The owner is a woman named Polina Kowaleva. But what does the 26-year-old Russian have to do with the Ukraine war? Kowaleva is said to be the unofficial “stepdaughter” of Russia’s foreign minister and close confidant of Putin, Sergey Lavrov.

Protesters say Kovaleva, whose mother Svetlana Polyakova is said to be Lavrov’s longtime lover, benefited enormously from her stepfather’s influence.

The demonstrators’ signs read, for example: “Polina Kowalewa, daughter of the Russian war criminal Sergey Lavrov, washes his dirty money here.” Others held up a photograph of her, with the words written in capital letters underneath: “Daughter of a war criminal.”

Last week there were already calls from some politicians to confiscate the young Russian woman’s luxury apartment. According to reports, Kowalewa had paid for the apartment in London’s posh district at the age of 21 without a mortgage and in cash. She is suspected of having ties to the Putin regime.

According to the British government, the apartment could fall under the stricter money laundering law. This will come into effect next week. It affects owners of assets who themselves have no verifiable income.