Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's official spokesman on Thursday dismissed a Washington Post report ascribing a palace on the coast of the Black Sea to the premier.
Referring to a Russian whistleblower businessman named Sergey Kolesnikov, the Washington Post reported earlier in the day that a "sprawling, Italian-style palace" was being constructed on the coast of the Black Sea "for the use of Prime Minister Vladimir Putin."
The palace was "predominantly paid for with money donated by Russian businessmen," the paper said, adding that the funds, more than $1 billion, have come "mainly through a combination of corruption, bribery and theft."
"Putin has never had any relation to this building," Dmitry Peskov said.
"As for the rest of the information, it concerns the ownership connections of various persons and entities, but Putin has never had any relationship to this palace," the prime minister's spokesman added.
MOSCOW, December 23 (RIA Novosti)
