The late Russian oligarch Oleg Burlakov’s three billion euro fortune is now the subject of a family feud that rivals any soap opera, with heirs squabbling over a contested will set to be re-examined in Monaco. The fortune at stake includes a luxurious Monaco penthouse, a world-renowned sailboat, and a handwritten will found at the house of Burlakov’s Latvian mistress.
Burlakov’s widow, Lioudmila, who was already in the process of divorcing the oligarch before COVID claimed his life in June 2021, alongside their daughters, has called the authenticity of this two-page will into question. They argue the document, discovered in the most “convenient” of places, is worth about as much as a Monopoly card. According to them, it seems suspicious that it heavily favours Burlakov’s sister, Vera Kazakova, and her husband, Nikolai, over his immediate family. While the mistress gets a modest 10 million euros, the bulk of Burlakov’s wealth is earmarked for a foundation overseen by the Kazakovs, much to the chagrin of his widow.
The former Red Army colonel, who made his billions in concrete and gas, also owned the famous Black Pearl yacht, yet another high-value item adding fuel to the family fire. The inheritance dispute has sparked legal skirmishes from Moscow to Miami, with courts in London and Panama also drawn into the fray. Monaco’s justice system has now ordered a fresh appraisal of the will, even though both sides have already presented a parade of graphologists, translators, and linguists.
Lioudmila’s team insists there’s “clear doubt” about the will’s authenticity, while the Kazakovs’ lawyers remain confident in the document’s legitimacy and only regret that the process wasn’t faster. After three years of legal wrangling, the question of who gets the keys to Burlakov’s empire remains up in the air.
