A photo that appears to have been taken on the French riviera is currently making the rounds on social media.
Spotting Luxembourgish number plates on the French riviera is not that unusual in and of itself. There are Luxembourgish tourists, of course, but all non-Luxembourgish nationals who live in the Grand Duchy or have a business registered there can also aquire Luxembourgish number plates for their vehicles.
However, a recent social media post shows the wife of Timur Ivanov, Russia's deputy minister of defense, driving a Rolls-Royce with Luxembourgish number plates. Timur Ivanov has been sanctioned by the European Union.
It is unclear when the photograph was shot, but it appears to have been taken somewhere in southern France.
© navalny.com
Several twitter users have questioned how the spouse of Timur Ivanov, one of the main people behind Russia's invasion of Ukraine, can be seen travelling with Luxembourgish number plates. Some have speculated that the photograph was taken several years ago.
Our colleagues from RTL.lu took a closer look.
Where does the photo originate from?
The picture was posted on twitter by Maria Pevchikh along with many more photographs and videos of Svetlana Maniovich (or Ivanova), the wife of the Russian Ministry of Defence's No. 2, enjoying life in the UK, France, and Italy. The German magazine Spiegel and the US news channel CNN also covered the research of the activist. Pevchikh works for the Russian anti-corruption foundation 'FBK,' which was founded in 2011 by the opposition politician Alexei Nawalny. She is the head of the investigative department. Her research focused on the unhindered travels of the wife of one of Vladimir Putin's high-ranking civil servants. One video posted by Pevchikh shows Maniovich partying at the French ski resort of Courchevel. The footage is said to have been recorded only three weeks ago. A little more than a year after the start of the war in Ukraine.
While her husband, Russia's deputy defence minister, is at war, Svetlana Maniovich ostensibly enjoys a life of luxury. In the ninth of 22 posts on twitter, Maria Pevchikh reveals that the Ivanovs have enough money to afford two 20-year-old Rolls-Royces: one for their home in Moscow and one for driving around the French Riviera. The latter has yellow number plates: XE7878. Our colleagues contacted Maria Pevchikh, who agreed to provide further explanations about her research by e-mail.
In her research, the car with the Luxembourgish plates appears again and again, for instance on a photo from the summer of 2018. Svetlana Maniovich poses next to the Rolls-Royce in the south of France.
© navalny.com
In 2014, the Russian woman was reported to have driven around in a convertible with her husband said to be at the wheel, according to FBK.
© navalny.com
In this picture, the car is on a lift. The Luxembourgish plates are clearly visible.
© navalny.com
Are these genuine Luxembourgish number plates?
RTL.lu asked the National Automobile Traffic Society (SNCA) if these plates are real. The SNCA confirmed their authenticity, but said that the car with the Luxembourgish plate number XE7878 has not been registered in Luxembourg since 27 September 2016.
The photo which was taken in the south of France in 2018 in particular suggests that the Russian couple was still driving with Luxembourgish plates, despite the fact that the registration had not been renewed with the SNCA. If this is the case, the Rolls-Royce with these number plates would be driven illegally.
Can the Luxembourgish authorities do anything?
According to the SNCA, they are not typically alerted if a car has not been registered for an extended period of time, except in cases of serious offenses. In such instances, they would notify the police, who would likely contact their foreign counterparts. If a car with non-compliant plates is stopped in France, the driver would be fined. However, more severe consequences could only be imposed if the vehicle was stopped on Luxembourgish territory.
Timur Ivanov is on the EU sanctions list against Russia. And yet he has a car with Luxembourgish plates…
In general, anyone who has registered their home or business in Luxembourg can also register their car there. During their investigation, FBK also came across the registration document of the Rolls-Royce.
© navalny.com
The car in question is a Rolls Royce Corniche. The couple bought it in 2011 and registered it with their Luxembourgish company, Elenco S.A., which was based at 54 Avenue de la Liberté in Luxembourg City. According to information available to RTL, this company ceased to exist in 2017.
In 2014, Russia forcibly annexed the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea and thus violated international treaties. Timur Ivanov was at the time Deputy Prime Minister of the Moscow Oblast.
He has since become the deputy of Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu and is on the EU sanctions list for his involvement in the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Today, he would no longer be able to register a car so easily in Luxembourg. But the Rolls-Royce in question received its plates in 2011: three years before the Russian annexation of Crimea, and much longer still before the war in Ukraine.
To confirm whether Svetlana Maniovich is still driving the Rolls-Royce with Luxembourgish plates, one would need to see the car in person in the south of France. The most recent photo of the vehicle that can be dated is from 2018. In the photo that the Russian shared herself on Instagram, the plates are not visible. They would, however, already have been out of date by the time the photo was taken. Svetlana Maniovich posted the last photo on her Instagram profile in April 2020.
How is it possible that Svetlana Maniovich can enjoy holidays in France so freely?
After all, the European Union imposed sanctions on Timur Ivanov last year.
The couple did in fact pull a fast one: according to research by the Anti-Corruption Federation, Svetlana Maniovich divorced Ivanov in order to avoid the sanctions. FBK, which analysed 8,000 messages from Maniovich's mailbox, assumes that the couple are still together.
The foundation of the imprisoned Putin opponent Navalny has also reportedly discovered that the Ivanov couple can only afford this lavish lifestyle through corruption. Ivanov's official salary is said to be around €280,000 per year. A big salary, of course, but is it enough for a life of luxury, complete with villas, yachts, and the like? His (ex-)wife allegedly spent more than €100,000 in a Parisian jewellery shop alone. And the repairs to the Rolls Royce with Luxembourgish plates would amount to €75,000. At least it seems that the couple takes good care of the car.
For the record: the founder of the anti-corruption foundation FBK, Alexei Navalny, has already been placed in solitary confinement in Russia on 14 occasions. His prison sentences are always extended. It was recently reported that he would be charged again with extremism. The Kremlin would like to imprison the opponent for about 30 years. FKB is staffed by opponents of the regime. Their research is well documented. Not all facts can be independently verified.
