French authorities say they have impounded a villa in the city of Biarritz belonging to Kirill Shamalov, the former husband of Katerina Tikhonova, a daughter of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The villa located on 9 General McCroskey Avenue in Biarritz appeared in the registry of the Ministry of Finance on properties impounded under Western sanctions.
According to the website Vazhnye Istorii (Important Stories), Shamalov bought the villa from the family of another Russian billionaire, Gennady Timchenko, in 2012 via his company Alta Mira.
The Nice-Matin newspaper reported on April 27 that French authorities impounded two other villas belonging to Russian billionaires -- one near the city of Saint-Tropez belonging to Oleg Deripaska since 2005, and another close to Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat and owned by Musa Bazhayev, chairman of the board of directors of the Russian Platinum company.
French authorities said that since the beginning of Russia's unprovoked invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 22.8 billion euros ($23.9 billion) worth of assets belonging to Russia's central bank were frozen in the country.
In addition, about 30 properties, four yachts, six helicopters, and three works of art belonging to Russian citizens sanctioned over the war in Ukraine have been impounded.