The woman dubbed “Putin’s Tsarina” and the third most powerful person in the Russian Federation is now in the crosshairs over this plush Italian villa she is said to own.

The revelation comes as the global hunt for Russian oligarchs with close ties to Putin intensifies.

Valentina Matviyenko, 72, is a Russian senator representing Putin’s native city of Saint Petersburg.

She is also the speaker of the upper house of Parliament in Russia (technically the head of the Council of the Russian Federation), responsible for signing the decrees that started the invasion of Ukraine.

Maria Pevchikh heads up the Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK), which describes itself as “the only non-profit organisation in Russia that is engaged in the investigation, disclosure and suppression of corruption offences with the highest authorities. FBK was founded in 2011 by Alexei Navalny”. She has claimed on Twitter that the villa belongs to Matviyenko.

The allegation that she is the real owner appears to be confirmed in Italian media, who are reporting that Matviyenko is well-known in the nearby holiday town of Pesaro, on the Adriatic coast, in the Italian region of Marche.

Furthermore, Italian newspapers say that Matviyenko bought the property in the summer of 2009. They also say that it is mainly frequented by her son Sergey, who was reportedly born in 1973.

The villa, which boasts a large swing pool and allegedly belongs to the Matvienko family is reportedly 774 square metres in size and sits on 26 hectares of land. It reportedly stretches over 650 metres of coastline.

It is currently unclear if the Italian authorities are investigating and planning to seize the villa.