The European Union has proposed sanctions against Alina Kabaeva, a former gymnast who chairs the National Media Group and is believed to be closely associated with Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to a document accessed by Bloomberg and people known be with the case.
The list has yet to be approved by European governments and may change before that happens. EU ambassadors are expected to meet on Friday morning to discuss – and possibly approve – a sixth package of sanctions that will also include measures to phase out all oil imports by the end of the year.
The National Media Group is a holding company that has interests in almost all major Russian media that distribute government propaganda, the EU document states, and is therefore responsible for supporting actions that undermine Ukraine’s independence and territorial integrity.
According to the document, Kabaeva is “closely associated with President Vladimir Putin”. The bloc previously endorsed the Russian president and two of his daughters he had with his ex-wife.
The Kremlin has repeatedly denied media reports that Putin, 69, has had a romantic relationship with Kabaeva or has children with her.
The owner of Moskovsky Korrespondent stopped funding the Russian tabloid in 2008 after it reported that Putin had divorced his wife and planned to marry Kabaeva. Putin himself angrily denounced the article as an “erotic fantasy.”
In 2014, Yury Kovalchuk, a billionaire associate of Putin, appointed Kabaeva as head of his National Media Group holding company after she spent nearly seven years as a legislator in Russia’s ruling party.
Kabaeva, who is an Olympic gold medalist, turns 39 next week.
The Wall Street Journal reported last month that the US has postponed sanctions against Kabaeva over concerns it could escalate tensions with Putin, citing unnamed US officials.