TV Rain has a good report about Shuvalov’s “tsar apartment”. In particular, they interviewed one of the residents of the high-rise, and he confirms it: yes, the deputy prime minister is often seen prowling around there:
Many people confirmed this to us as well. In fact, the investigation began when residents of the Kotelnicheskaya high-rise started writing to the ACF Black Box: Shuvalov is buying up apartments in our building at any price.
Why is this important—Shuvalov’s frequent personal presence in the Kotelnicheskaya high-rise? Because it proves that this official’s finances are not in any kind of trust management, and certainly not in a “blind trust,” as he likes to claim.
Instead of doing his job in government, as he is supposed to, Shuvalov is personally running a business, which is explicitly forbidden to him. Remember how the State Duma stripped Gennady Gudkov Sr. of his mandate for signing some piece of paperwork as the owner of a company? No court ruling, no proper procedure. They simply voted: he’s engaged in business, so strip him of his seat.
And here you have an actual deputy prime minister personally overseeing the purchase of apartments and the renovations.
So either this is his personal residence and he is managing it himself (without declaring it), or he is personally investing his own money—in other words, engaging in business.
Two options. For choosing either one, Shuvalov should be dismissed from office.
P.S.
By the way, just so you understand the scale of the renovation: a Bloomberg reporter took a photo through a crack in the door: