Protesters in Paris rally against 'blood money' of Putin's minister

PARIS – Anti-Kremlin protesters staged a rally in Paris on Sunday, urging the European Union to slap sanctions on the socialite wife of the Russian Deputy Defence Minister, who has been accused of bypassing sanctions.

Mr Timur Ivanov divorced his wife Svetlana Maniovich in the summer of 2022 in order to shield her from sanctions, according to associates of jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny.

Before the divorce, Ms Maniovich had changed her surname to Ivanova, and the Deputy Defence Minister is her only source of financial support, the activists said.

At a rally organised by Navalny’s team on Sunday, several dozen activists gathered outside the presumed home of Ms Maniovich in the French capital’s chic Seventh District, chanting “sanctions” and holding placards.

Anti-Kremlin activists say that Mr Ivanov’s wife must be banned from living in Europe and her assets frozen.

One placard at the rally said: “Robs in Russia. Kills in Ukraine. Wife in France”.

“This is a family of a war criminal,” Ms Maria Pevchikh, a top Navalny associate, told AFP at the rally.

“They should face some sort of punishment and justice for what they are doing.”

In December 2022, Navalny’s team released an investigation report, saying Mr Ivanov’s family for years enjoyed a life of luxury in Europe with vacations in Saint-Tropez, Rolls-Royces and exclusive jewellery.

The probe is based on a trove of thousands of Ms Maniovich’s e-mails obtained by the activists.

After Russian President Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine, Mr Ivanov began overseeing – and profiting from – construction projects in Ukraine’s Mariupol, which fell under Moscow’s control after a months-long siege, the activists said.

After the start of the war, Mr Ivanov’s wife went to France, where she continues to enjoy a luxury lifestyle, they added.

‘New reality’

In June 2022, the couple divorced, said Navalny’s associates who called the move a sham.

Mr Ivanov and Ms Maniovich, who are raising a young daughter together, did not publicly announce they had called it quits.

In October 2022, the EU introduced sanctions against Mr Ivanov, 47, describing him as the Defence Ministry’s top official in charge of construction of military facilities.

“He is responsible for the Russian war effort at large,” said the EU.

The fact that Ms Maniovich could bypass EU sanctions was “outrageous and unfair”, said Ms Pevchikh, pointing to “a crazy level of corruption which is now combined with war crimes”.

For weeks, Navalny’s team has lobbied the French authorities but received no answer.

“Now is not the time to ignore this,” Ms Pevchikh said. “We are in the middle of the war.”

As soon as Ms Maniovich arrived in Paris in March 2022, she went to the appointment-only boutique of world-famous jeweller Joel Arthur Rosenthal to buy a new piece of jewellery, Navalny’s team said.

She e-mailed Mr Rosenthal’s firm, JAR, saying her plane was arriving later than scheduled after the EU banned flights to and from Russia.

“(A) new reality”, she wrote, according to the investigation. “What’s the latest I can come today?“ AFP