Putin's friend who was involved in offshore scandal wants to give a concert in Syria
Sergei Roldugin has been called a close friend of Vladimir Putin and the owner of a shadow offshore empire with billions of dollars in assets. He is also a cello player who said on channel Russia 24 that he is ready to play in a concert in Palmyra, Syria once again, RIA Novosti reports.
According to the musician, the orchestra conducted by Valery Gergiev is also ready to go to Palmyra. "They were not told initially that they were going to Palmyra, and when they were told, many of them wanted to go but women [of the orchestra] were not taken,” Roldugin said.
The orchestra of the Mariinsky Theatre gave a concert in May 2016 in the ancient amphitheater of Palmyra in honor of the release of the city from ISIS terrorists. In December, the Syrian army had to leave Palmyra which was occupied by militants.
Roldugin’s business dealings appear in an investigation published by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists. According to investigators, Roldugin is directly related to offshore turnover in excess of two billion dollars. Offshore companies could receive money from the institutions close to the Rottenberg family, Suleyman Kerimov, Alexei Mordashov and others who made money through questionable deals with shares of Russian state companies and then invested funds in purchasing strategic assets in the country and owning projects related to Putin’s friends and relatives.