The Russian CEO of an arms company owns five villas in Mallorca

The Anti-Corruption Foundation (a non-profit Russian organisation) has conducted a new investigation that reveals Nikolai Kolesov is an arms manufacturer who has connections with Vladimir Putin. He owns five luxury Mallorca villas. The organization revealed that the weapons tycoon registered the villas in the names of family members to avoid strict EU embargo regulations.

Kolesov, the CEO of Russian Helicopters, is the primary helicopter supplier to the Russian Army. Due to this, Kolesov has been directly implicated in the strict sanctions that have been put in place by Europe due to Russia’s war against Ukraine.

The explosive report is a 56-minute video on YouTube titled Who’s making billions off the war — and how? The largest theft in Russia’s defense industry. Maria Pevchikh and Georgy Alburov, journalist and head of research for the Foundation, made this discovery. They attribute ownership of five villas to the magnate through a series of connections, photos, videos and timeline comparisons.

In May 2022, they found the first property on the timeline registered in the daughter of Kolesov, aged four. The second property, which is located in the same neighbourhood, is half as large as the first one and is valued at approximately €3 million. It was originally owned by a firm that transferred ownership later to Kolesov’s older sister. The reporters found the three last properties after analysing hundreds and thousands of photos and videos that Kolesov’s ex-wife had posted. The houses, which in fact are all next to each other, were bought by Kolesov’s child in 2024. Each home is approximately 750 metres sq.