PARIS: Dozens of protesters gathered outside the home of Svetlana Maniovich, the socialite wife of Russian Deputy Defence Minister Timur Ivanov, in Paris’s seventh district on Sunday.
The activists were calling for the European Union to impose sanctions on Maniovich, whom they accuse of bypassing EU sanctions by moving to France and living a life of luxury there.
The protest was organized by associates of jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, who claim that Ivanov’s wife must be banned from living in Europe and her assets frozen.
One placard at the rally read: “Robs in Russia. Kills in Ukraine. Wife in France”, while another accused the family of a war criminal of living in Paris.
According to Navalny’s team, Ivanov and his family enjoyed a life of luxury in Europe, with vacations in Saint-Tropez, Rolls-Royces, and exclusive jewellery.
After Putin sent troops to Ukraine, 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.
Russian deputy defence minister as only source of financial support
To bypass Western sanctions, Ivanov and Maniovich divorced in June 2022, changing her last name to Ivanova. However, the deputy defence minister remains her only source of financial support, the activists claim.
Last October, the European Union introduced sanctions against Ivanov, describing him as the defence ministry’s top official in charge of the construction of military facilities. “He is mainly responsible for the Russian war effort,” said the EU.
The fact that Maniovich could bypass European Union sanctions is “outrageous and unfair”, said Maria Pevchikh, a top Navalny associate, adding that there is “a crazy level of corruption combined with war crimes.”
Navalny’s team has lobbied the French authorities for weeks but has received no response. “Now is not the time to ignore this,” Pevchikh said. “We are in the middle of the war.”
