The United States sanctioned Russian President Vladimir Putin’s daughters – Katerina Vladmirovna Tikhonova and Maria Vladimirovna Vorontsova -- because they are allegedly hiding Putin’s wealth. Both are daughters from Putin’s first wife Lyudmila Putina, who he divorced in 2013.
White House sanctioned Putin’s daughters because it believes that Katerina and Maria are hiding the wealth and assets of not only Putin but also the Russian oligarchs, as per Reuters.
A senior US administration official said, “We have reason to believe that Putin, and many of his cronies, and the oligarchs, hide their wealth, hide their assets, with family members that place their assets and their wealth in the US financial system, and also many other parts of the world.”
US Senator Sheldon Whitehouse was quoted as saying by the news agency, “Putin and his oligarchs stow their dirty money in rule-of-law nations by purchasing mansions, mega-yachts, artwork and other high-value assets.”
These sanctions also affected the daughter and wife of Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. The Kremlin stated that it was bewildered by the US’ decision and described this move as part of a broader Western frenzy against Russia.
About Putin’s daughters
Putin’s daughter Katerina is a tech executive who supports the Russian government and defence industry with her work, as per the US sanctions package. Katerina was an acrobatic dancer and she has participated in several contests. Her net worth stood at about $2 billion in addition to other property and assets.
His other daughter Maria leads government-funded programs which have received massive funding for genetics research and are personally overseen by Putin. She is a peadiatric endocrinologist and has studied biology at St Petersburg University and medicine at the Moscow State University.
Maria is married to Dutch businessman Jorrit Joost Faassen. She is the co-author of a book on ‘idiopathic stunting’ in children.