Category Outrageous luxuries

There’s no evidence that Ukraine’s president has a net worth of $596 million

There is no proof that Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has a net worth of $596 million or receives a monthly income of $11 million. Leaked financial documents showed Zelenskyy had several assets like real estate property and cars, but not enough to corroborate the claim made on Facebook. A report by Forbes found the Ukrainian president's net worth was closer to $20 million to $30 million. Our ruling A Facebook post shared a screenshot from a website claiming to show Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's net worth as being $596 million while receiving a monthly income of $11 million and a salary of $780,000. The website featured in the Facebook post offered no corroborating evidence for the claim. Leaked financial documents showed Zelenskyy did have some assets, but nowhere near what's being claimed on the website and Facebook post. A report by Forbes found his net worth to be much smaller, around $20 million to $30 million. We rate this False.
Read MoreThere’s no evidence that Ukraine’s president has a net worth of $596 million

Land documents claiming Ukrainian officials bought fancy properties in Switzerland are forged

A Swiss land registry official said that documents claiming to show purchases of luxury properties by Ukrainian officials are forged. The documents contain errors, such as the wrong digit count in numbers identifying the property. A Swiss newspaper said the false claims were the work of a blogger loyal to the Kremlin. Our ruling A website claimed that three high-ranking Ukrainian officials had purchased luxury property in the resort town of Gstaad, Switzerland. A Swiss land registry official said the documents cited as evidence were forged; errors in them prove that they did not come from the registry, the official said. We rate this claim False.
Read MoreLand documents claiming Ukrainian officials bought fancy properties in Switzerland are forged

No proof that Ukraine President Zelenskyy owns a $35 million home in Florida I

There is no proof that Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy owns a $35 million home in Florida. The claim originated from a source that appears to be backed by the Russian government. The Pandora Papers leak did show Zelenskyy owned several offshore companies and other assets, but nothing that could corroborate the claim made on social media. Our ruling A now-deleted Facebook post shared the claim that Ukraine President Zelenskyy owned a $35 million home in Florida among several other assets. The claim appears to have originated from a Russian-backed source, and no other corroborating evidence for the claim could be found. While leaked financial documents showed Zelenskyy owned several offshore companies and other assets like cars and property, they made no mention of a Florida home. We rate this claim False.
Read MoreNo proof that Ukraine President Zelenskyy owns a $35 million home in Florida I

Story that claims Putin bombed a Biden-owned villa and ‘hammered’ biolabs, pedophile rings is bogus

A story that claimed Russian President Vladimir Putin bombed a villa in Ukraine owned by President Joe Biden is bogus. It was created by a misinformation website that regularly publishes made-up stories. We found no evidence that Biden has a villa in Ukraine. Claims about nefarious biolabs in Ukraine ' some supposedly "U.S. owned" ' are also fabricated, and part of disinformation efforts by Russians. It's unclear what the blog is talking about in its reference to "pedophile rings," but it claims that Putin is wiping out "child trafficking covens" in Ukraine, and we found no evidence that these exist.
Read MoreStory that claims Putin bombed a Biden-owned villa and ‘hammered’ biolabs, pedophile rings is bogus