Putin cronies milked Sochi Winter Games for US$30b, opposition claims

Russian businessmen and officials close to President Vladimir Putin have stolen up to US$30 billion of funds intended for preparations for the Winter Olympics in Sochi next year, according to a report released by opposition leaders.

Putin, who has staked his reputation on a successful Games, faces criticism over allegations of corruption and cost overruns that have pushed up the price tag for the event to US$50 billion - more than four times initial estimates, making them the most costly Olympics ever.

"In preparing for the Olympics US$25 to US$30 billion was stolen," Russian opposition leader Boris Nemtsov said on Thursday.

The report, written by Nemtsov and Leonid Martynyuk, another Putin critic, alleges the most expensive sports facilities built for the Games were commissioned without competition or public tenders. "Only oligarchs and companies close to Putin got rich," he wrote on his blog. "The absence of fair competition, cronyism … have led to a sharp increase in the costs and to the poor quality of the work to prepare for the Games."

Putin's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, declined to comment on the criticism, saying he had not seen the report.

Russian contractors and others who have been involved in the building boom to prepare for the Sochi Games have complained of widespread corruption, but government officials have dismissed such reports and defended the cost overruns.

Comparing Sochi's price tag with that of previous Games, the report says the final cost of Olympics over the past 16 years was on average about twice the amount initially planned.