Who is Elena Baturina? Here's the Russian billionaire's net worth and truth behind $3.5M transfer to Hunter Biden
Hunter Biden's name has been linked to a set of conspiracy theories after the Senate Homeland Security Committee's report was released on Wednesday, September 23, 2020. As per a string of explosive reports by New York Post and Daily Mail, Hunter allegedly sent “thousands of dollars” to people who may have been involved in Eastern European prostitution and sex trafficking rings and was involved in a “a financial relationship” with former Mayor of Moscow's widow Elena Baturina.
According to New York Post, the Senate report claims “extensive public reporting concerning Hunter Biden’s alleged involvement with prostitution services.” It also states that the “records on file with the Committees do not directly confirm or refute these individual reports.” The GOP report does state the following though: “However, they do confirm that Hunter Biden sent thousands of dollars to individuals who have either: 1) been involved in transactions consistent with possible human trafficking; 2) an association with the adult entertainment industry; or 3) potential association with prostitution.”
The bombshell report did not mention Joe Biden's involvement in any wrongdoings but focused on how his son “cashed in” on his father's position by joining the board of Burisma Holdings, a Ukrainian gas company. The Democratic presidential nominee's campaign has chastised the reports as an attempt by an ally of President Donald Trump's to damage his election rival.
Why did Hunter Biden get a $3.5 million transfer wire?
As per the same report, Hunter's company Rosemont Seneca Thornton received a $3.5 million wire transfer from Elena Baturina — the richest woman in Russia and the widow of Yury Luzhkov, the former mayor of Moscow — on Valentine's Day in 2014. Calling her involvement with Hunter “a financial relationship,” the report read: “Baturina became Russia’s only female billionaire when her plastics company, Inteko, received a series of Moscow municipal contracts while her husband was mayor.”
That's not all. Reportedly, Baturina sent 11 wires transfers between May and December 2015 to a bank account belonging to BAK USA, a tech startup that filed for bankruptcy in March 2019. The report also quotes that nine of those 11 wire transfers — described as “Loan Agreement” in the details section — were first sent to Rosemont Seneca Partners and then transferred to BAK USA.
That brings us to the big question buzzing in many minds: Who really is Elena Baturina and why was $3.5 million transferred to Hunter's company? As of now, there is no clear indication as to why the wire transfers were made.
Who is Elena Baturina?
Born as Yelena Nikolayevna Baturina on March 8, 1963, she is a Russian billionaire businesswoman and philanthropist. Baturina first started her career as a design-technician at the Frezer plant. Back in 1987, she first locked eyes with Yury Luzhkov when they were both serving at Mosgorispolkom, a Soviet-era municipal commission. The professional relationship soon turned platonic and led to marriage in 1991. In an interview with Sobesednik, she confessed, “We never even thought about anything like that when we were working together, it all happened much later.”
In 1991, she founded Inteco — which first started as a plastics business and then moved into construction. The next year, in 1992, Luzhkov became the Mayor of Moscow and served until 2010. Elena's company's profits grew day by day and by the year 2007, its revenue spiralled up to $1 billion, as per its own data. By 2009, Baturina owned 99 percent of the company with the remaining one percent on the balance sheet. The next year, she was named one of the largest taxpayers in Russia.
In 2010, there was a major change in their lives after Luzhkov was removed from the mayor's post. As per Daily Mail, Russia's president Dmitry Medvedev fired Luzhkov over corruption allegations, which were never proven in court. Following that, Elena moved to London along with her two daughters, Elena and Olga.
A look at her wealth and business: What is her net worth?
After heading Inteco for two decades, she started selling all her assets in 2011. That year, she started a hotel chain in Ireland, Austria, the Czech Republic and Russia, invested in real estate in Europe and USA, renewable energy interests in Italy and Greece along with a membrane construction enterprise in Germany.
As per Forbes, Elena ranks #1613 on the list of billionaires in 2020 and her current net worth amounts to $1.3 billion. As per a press statement by her office in 2018, she was not only the only businesswoman in Eastern Europe with an empire worth over $1 billion, but it was her 13th consecutive year as Russia's richest woman and her fortune had increased by $200 million.
One of the 72 self-made women in the "three comma club," she set up the Be Open Foundation in 2011 and has been actively involved in philanthopy and charity work. As per a Finance Uncovered report, she is a keen golfer, skier and equestrian who owns Beaurepaire Park, a moated country mansion and 250-acre estate in rural Hampshire. On December 10, 2019, her husband Luzkhov died in Munich, Germany at the age of 83.