29 May 2024 , 09:54
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Businessman Adolfas Kaminskas, who is married to the mother of former Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu’s illegitimate children, has invested over $4 million in Dubai real estate, according to an investigation by the Lithuanian Center for Investigative Journalism Siena. Kaminskas used a Lithuanian passport to complete the deal. The document was later confiscated.
According to the findings of the investigation, in November 2022, Kaminskas invested close to €4 million ($4.35 million) in the Palm Beach Towers project, reserving three 126-square-meter apartments in a residential complex that is still under construction. As noted by Siena, Kaminskas’ properties are located right next to Palm Jumeirah — perhaps the most famous artificial archipelago in Dubai. One of these apartments was later re-registered to Elena Kaminskas (née Shebunova), the mother of Shoigu’s illegitimate children.
Render of the Palm Beach Towers residential complex in Dubai
Lithuanian political analyst Nerijus Maliukevičius told Siena that Kaminskas’ decision to invest money in Dubai could have been part of an attempt to protect the capital from Western sanctions while simultaneously hiding it from Russian security services. According to Maliukevičius, Dubai has a reputation as a jurisdiction that does not take a keen interest in the origin of investors’ funds.
In December 2022, Lithuanian authorities confiscated Kaminskas’ Lithuanian passport after discovering that he simultaneously held Russian citizenship. According to Siena, he is now trying to challenge Lithuania’s ruling in court. The decision is expected to be announced on June 12.
Until 2017, Kaminskas owned a small business selling mopeds, but then began to get rich quickly, becoming the beneficiary of several companies in Vilnius with assets worth €20 million euros ($21.77 million).