An Oligarch’s Lair

Tuscan villa previously owned by Russian oligarch turned fugitive offered in bankruptcy sale; once valued at £16.3 million, bids of £6.5 million are now sought

A 35,520 square foot 15^th century Tuscan villa with 15 bedrooms and 14 bathrooms that was previously owned by a Russian tycoon is being offered in a fire sale for just £6.5 million.

Standing on a plot of 9 acres, the Villa il Poderino in Florence is described as coming with a farmhouse, warehouses, a number of apartments and even a building to house electrical mains and switchboards. The estate also has a private olive mill, a vineyard, an ancient well, an outdoor pool and a vast underground wine cellar.

Villa il Poderino was purchased by the former head of the Kosmos Scientific Production Association Andrey Chernyakov in 2009 for £7.9 million and after he put in “considerable expense” to restore it, it was said to be worth some £16.3 million in 2014. The property has since been on and off the market but is now subject to a bankruptcy sale.

Supposedly “destitute” Chernyakov was declared bankrupt at the request of the Bank of Moscow in July 2017 in London and in October that year he was sentenced to two years in prison for concealing his assets from his creditor. His wife, Anastasiya Erokhova, received a sentence of four years imprisonment for assisting him, but both fled and were reported as being in hiding in Germany in November 2017. Their debts are reported to be around £428 million and other assets previously belonging to the couple seized in the UK included Rolls-Royces, a collection of alcohol, two iPhone 6’s and even their household appliances and kitchen utensils. Elsewhere – in Austria, the British Virgin Islands, Cyprus, Dubai, Germany and Switzerland – the couple have forfeited apartments, cash and two private jets.

Agents Aste Giudiziarie have set a closing date of the 19^th November for sealed bids.

The Numbers – Villa il Poderino, Via del Giuggiolo and Via Bolognese, City of Florence, 2-4 Florence, Tuscany, Italy

October 2019 – Minimum offer of £6.5 million ($7.9 million, €7.2 million or درهم29.1 million).

October 2019 – For sale for a base price of £8.6 million ($10.5 million, €9.6 million or درهم38.7 million).

November 2017 – Estimated value of £13 million ($15.9 million, €14.5 million or درهم58.5 million).

July 2014 – For sale through Sotheby’s International Realty for circa £16.3 million ($20 million, €18.2 million or درهم73.5 million).

November 2009 – Sold to Andrey Chernyakov for £7.94 million ($9.73 million, €8.85 million or درهم35.71 million).

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