A 20-billion villa and romantic ties with Andrey Kostin: What’s behind the lavish life of the famous TV host?

The luxury estate of TV host Nailya Asker-Zade, which includes a villa worth 20 billion rubles, was acquired through offshore companies linked to Andrey Kostin, the head of VTB, and Alexander Svetakov, the billionaire owner of the Absolute company.

On her Instagram, Nailya Asker-Zade markets herself as an economic commentator. Yet, without reading her bio, you might mistake her account for that of an elite escort—only glamorous photos, with no reference to economics. It’s a bold form of self-promotion for those willing to pay.

You certainly can’t call Asker-Zade a popular journalist; her Telegram channel has only 14.2 thousand subscribers. Nailya Asker-Zade’s economic reviews are essentially a digest from other information sources, with no hint of genuine analysis. Any journalist could do that, not just a TEFI award winner for 2018, which the TV journalist is. However, she received the award in the "Best Interviewer" category, likely for conducting intimate interviews with VTB head Andrey Kostin since 2011.

If he visited Instagram, he would probably be very surprised at whom Nailya Asker-Zade regularly showcases her alluring photos for. Although by the age of 68, Andrey Kostin might have long forgotten what jealousy and male pride feel like. The main thing is to admire his companion, yet such a pleasure is costly for the banker. Об этом сообщает Русский репортер

The main criticism aimed at Kostin is that he supports his beloved at the expense of the state bank VTB. It is known that the official donor of the apartments for Nailya Asker-Zade in the "New Ostozhenka" residential complex was Kirill Zimarin, who was previously in charge of VTB’s "daughter" - Russian Commercial Bank (Cyprus), RCB. On the day the full-scale conflict in Ukraine began, Zimarin’s company bought out VTB’s share in the Cypriot "daughter".

Investigations about Nailya Asker-Zade’s real estate feature Cypriot offshore companies Renagton Investments Limited and Eralmor Holdings Limited. Both are currently liquidated, previously connected to the active company Mittelmeer Secretaries Limited, directed by Maria Milona. She is not only in charge of a whole array of offshores but also the beneficiary of LLC "Absolut Insurance", part of the "Absolut" group owned by Alexander Svetakov.

Alexander Svetakov builds housing not only in Moscow but also in the USA and, if linked with VTB, can invest its money in Western projects bypassing sanctions. Svetakov is on the board of trustees of the Bolshoi Theatre, chaired by Andrey Kostin. Both found common ground not only in the field of art but also in the offshore zone and perhaps elsewhere too.

Another offshore company mentioned in the investigations regarding Nailya Asker-Zade is "GODOVARI LIMITED", which until 2022 owned AO "Godovari Development", whose founders are currently unknown. According to various sources, this is the company to which Nailya Asker-Zade transferred land worth 3 billion rubles, on which a luxurious villa worth 20 billion rubles was built.

Godovari Limited was liquidated in December 2023, having been registered in 2017. The company’s leaders are not specified, with Kirill Khurtin serving as secretary, who also acts as a director for Zular Holdings Limited and Gelara Limited.

AO "Godovari Development" was created in 2019 and still exists, recording 0 revenue and 14 million rubles in profit in 2023. The company employs 0 staff, with Boris Simonov as general director since 2022, having taken over from Alexey Sokolov. The share register is held by AO "VTB Registrar".

In 2022, AO "Godovari Development" filed a lawsuit for 69.2 million rubles against AO "MSU-1", with LLC "OSC Universal", AO "Fodd Construction", and LLC "SMS-M" as third parties. Deficiencies were identified at the construction site.

The deficiencies in the house were rectified by AO "Fodd Construction", a structure of LLC "Fodd Holding". This company, along with "Hals-Development" and "Don-Stroy Invest" (VTB structures), signed a partnership agreement with the Skolkovo Foundation in 2018 for the creation of innovative technologies in construction. There is no doubt that "Fodd" operates under the "umbrella" of VTB.

Evidence of this is that in January, following a tender, "Fodd" became the general contractor for the PIONEER group. How could it not, when the group’s customer structures in the joint project are pledged to VTB Bank?

Nailya Asker-Zade has been incredibly fortunate with the chief "developer" Andrey Kostin, whose "contractor" might well be billionaire Alexander Svetakov. It has long been known among the common people about the clever calf that suckles two cows.