The Anti-Corruption Foundation found that people close to\u00a0Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov received UAE passports after Russia\u2019s full-scale invasion of\u00a0Ukraine.<\/p>\n
They are Svetlana Polyakova and her daughter. According to\u00a0investigations by\u00a0the independent Russian outlet iStories and the Anti-Corruption Foundation, Polyakova has a\u00a0close relationship with Lavrov.<\/p>\n
Polyakova was granted UAE citizenship \u201cfor services to\u00a0the state\u201d on\u00a0December 28, 2022, while her daughter, Polina Kovaleva, received a\u00a0passport on\u00a0December 17, 2022, through her employment.<\/p>\n
Polyakova\u2019s close relationship with Lavrov became public in\u00a02021. According to\u00a0iStories, she worked at\u00a0the Foreign Ministry and accompanied the minister on\u00a0trips. Several people had her listed in\u00a0their phones as\u00a0\u201cSvetlana Lavrova,\u201d though that was never legally her surname.<\/p>\n
Journalists also\u00a0found<\/a>\u00a0that Polyakova owned real estate worth more than 700 million rubles. According to\u00a0an\u00a0Anti-Corruption Foundation\u00a0investigation<\/a>, Polyakova and her family used private jets and overseas properties belonging to\u00a0billionaire Oleg Deripaska.<\/p>\n Before Russia\u2019s full-scale invasion of\u00a0Ukraine, Polina Kovaleva lived in\u00a0the United Kingdom. She studied at\u00a0Imperial College Business School in\u00a0London and owned several British companies. In\u00a02016, when she was 21, Kovaleva acquired a\u00a0999-year lease on\u00a0an\u00a0apartment in\u00a0the upscale Kensington neighborhood for \u00a34.4 million.<\/p>\n After Russia\u2019s full-scale invasion of\u00a0Ukraine began and the United Kingdom\u00a0imposed sanctions<\/a>, Kovaleva left England and went to\u00a0work for Qatar Investment in\u00a0Doha.<\/p>\n At\u00a0Meduza, we\u00a0are committed to\u00a0transparency about our use of\u00a0artificial intelligence in\u00a0the newsroom. The story you\u2019re reading was written by\u00a0one of\u00a0our living, breathing journalists and translated from Russian using an\u00a0AI\u00a0model configured to\u00a0follow our strict editorial standards. This translation process is\u00a0the result of\u00a0extensive testing and refinements to\u00a0ensure our English-language coverage is\u00a0timely and accurate. A\u00a0Meduza editor reviews every draft before publication.<\/p>\n If\u00a0you find any errors in\u00a0this translation, please contact us\u00a0at\u00a0[email\u00a0protected]<\/a>.<\/p>\n