Russian media outlets (1tv.ru, Russia Today,Sputnik, Duma tv, lenta.ru) as well as the Georgian-language program “Solidarity for Peace,” disseminated information based on the Italian media Database Italia that the Zelenskyy family purchased a winery estate in Italy, Tenuta il Palagio, from British singer Sting, paying between 60 to 75 million.
The article is accompanied by two documents from the Italian property registry, which indicate that the current owner of the estate is Volodymyr Zelensky’s company, San Tommaso SRL.
The disseminated documents are fabricated. According to documents obtained by “Myth Detector” from the Italian property registry – Agenzia delle Entrate, the owner of Tenuta il Palagio is still SUMNER Gordon Matthew, aka the British singer Sting.
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The documents published by the Italian media Database Italia are fabricated.
Database Italia published the article on August 5. The article states that Sting and his wife bought the winery estate in 1997 and sold it on June 28, 2024. According to the attached documents, the current owner is the Zelensky family’s company, San Tommaso SRL. The document is dated July 24.
Tenuta il Palagio (Tenuta il Palagio Via San Martino Altoreggi, Figline e Incisa Valdarno 50063 FI) is located in Tuscany. Using this address, “Myth Detector” requested information on the ownership of the property from the Italian property registry – Agenzia delle Entrate. According to the provided document, as of 08/08/2024, the owner of Tenuta il Palagio is still SUMNER Gordon Matthew, aka the singer Sting.


As for San Tommaso SRL, which according to Database Italia is the new owner of the winery estate, it does indeed belong to the Zelenskyy family and is mentioned in Zelensky’s declaration, but Tenuta il Palagio has not been transferred to this legal entity.

The source of this disinformation is the Italian media outlet Database Italia, from which it spread to Russian media and then to Georgian pro-Russian media. The Ukrainian Center for Countering Disinformation also responded to this issue. In their statement, they noted that Database Italia has spread disinformation on multiple occasions in the past.
It’s worth noting that the claim that the Zelenskyy family spends Western money on luxury items has been circulating for a long time, and “Myth Detector” has identified several disinformation instances on this topic:
- DISINFORMATION ABOUT ZELENSKYY BUYING A £150 MILLION VILLA IN CYPRUS
- DISINFORMATION, AS IF ZELENSKYY BOUGHT GOEBBELS’ FORMER VILLA
- WHO OWNS THE HIGHGROVE HOUSE – VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY OR THE BRITISH ROYAL FAMILY?
- DOES VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY OWN A USD 35 MILLION VILLA IN MIAMI?
- WHAT IS THE ACTUAL NET WORTH OF ZELENSKYY AND IS IT LINKED TO HIS POLITICAL CAREER?
This method of spreading information is part of Russian propaganda. Initially, disinformation is spread through some Western, newly established media outlet, which is then picked up by Russian sources. In this particular case, the original source is not a newly created media outlet, but rather an organization that has repeatedly spread disinformation in the past.
On this topic, “Myth Detector,” together with Maldita.es , StopFake, Delfi, Chequeado, La Silla Vacía, Animal Político and EsPaja has already prepared two extensive studies. See:
- THE PIZZAGATE OF ZELENSKI’S WIFE, AND OTHER CROSS-BORDER HOAXES THAT USE WOMEN AND CHILDREN TO DELEGITIMIZE UKRAINE
- ZELENSKY AND HIS WIFE SPENDING WESTERN MONEY ON LUXURY GOODS OR SQUANDERING WAR RESOURCES: THE CROSS-BORDER DISINFORMATION CAMPAIGNS CIRCULATING FROM GEORGIA TO ARGENTINA
Archive links: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
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