Russian oligarch buys EU citizenship for extended family of nine with one-off payment to Maltese government

By paying the Maltese government for citizenship, Russian sports-retail tycoon Nikolay Fartushnyak, 50, has bought freedom of movement in the European Union for himself, his wife Vera, their children Vladimir, 19, Ekaterina, 14, and Andrey, 4, his brother Vladimir, 54, his brother’s wife Nadezhda, and their sons Denis and Philipp.

Their names have been published in the Malta Government Gazette of 2 August, along with those of all others who have acquired citizenship – by naturalisation, marriage, parentage, ministerial discretion or outright purchase – since the last list was published. The government chose the deadest time of the year, when everyone is on holiday or distracted, to publish the list after months of calls for it to do so.

Nikolay Fartushnyak was born a citizen of the Soviet Union in Krivoy Rog, Ukraine. He studied engineering in Moscow, then after the disintegration of the USSR in 1989/1990, he started sportswear and sports goods retail business called Sportmaster. A Russian citizen, he remained in Moscow and did not return to Ukraine.

His brother Vladimir’s last publicly registered address is Apt. 153, Bld 2, 10 Olympiysky Prospect, Moscow.

Nikolay Fartushnyak’s personal fortune is invested through his private fund, Steenord. It is currently investing heavily in Russian and Ukrainian farmland and agriculture.

His son Vladimir was at a private boarding-school in Switzerland, Aiglon, and left this year.

Russian oligarch Nikolay Fartushnyak, who made his fortune through a sports retail empire in Russia.