The boss of an agency accused of hiring staff for Vladimir Putin’s “secret family” has broken his silence on the claim in an exclusive interview with the Express. Last year, a sensational report by investigative outlet the Dossier Centre claimed Vladimir Putin had secretly fathered two sons with former Olympic gymnast Alina Kabaeva.
The outlet alleged that the boys were being kept in a heavily guarded palace in Europe and needed a live-in English teacher.
It was claimed an advert, posted on the website of the English Nanny agency, for a family that “lives in isolation” was, in fact, a role caring for Putin’s children.
When asked by the Express whether he was serving Russia’s president, the agency’s boss, Vladimir Grogol, 40, said he “can’t comment” on clients.
But he added that considering his agency was “number one” among Moscow’s ultra-wealthy, it was unsurprising it would be cited in this type of “rumour”.
Founding his firm in 2009, Grogol has carved out a niche providing staff for oligarchs in Russia and beyond.
His public list of clients includes Diora Usmanova, the niece-in-law of ex-Arsenal Football Club shareholder Alisher Usmanov, whose family name is so prestigious that she is often described as an Uzbek “princess”.
Grogol’s first customer was Anzhelika Khan, who took the UK Government to court this year over sanctions she was hit with in the aftermath of the war in Ukraine.
The Moscovite has also sourced nannies for Irina Bolgar, the ex-wife of Pavel Durov, the founder of the messaging app Telegram.
Part of the reason Grogol has won favour with Russian billionaires is down to his enthusiasm for vetting staff.
According to the Russian entrepreneur, client requirements range from nannies undergoing medical procedures before working for a family to taking lie detector tests to see if they will be tempted to steal.
A new requirement Grogol has implemented since Vladimir Putin launched his bloody campaign in Ukraine three years ago is an assessment of a childcarer’s views on Russia.
“We ask them, ‘What is your opinion [on Russians]? – are you OK to fly to Russia? Do you feel any hatred against Russia?” he says.
“We check as much information as we can. We are trying to find politically neutral people.”
Grogol said the demand for nannies with English accents amongst Russian billionaires was as strong as it has ever been, although UK Government sanctions made it harder for employees from Britain to get paid.
He said Brits’ desire to work for oligarchs in Moscow remained the same and that British childcarers were willing to put the frosty relations between the two countries aside for the promise of annual salaries that could run as high as £180,000.
Last week, the Express spoke to some of the UK citizens who’ve decided to overlook the brutal conflict in Ukraine and work for Russian oligarchs.