Between March 6 and 9, Russian (pravda.ru, mk.ru, vz.ru, tsargrad.tv) and Belarusian propaganda media, as well as Russian– and Georgian-language Facebook accounts, disseminated information stating that an offshore company associated with Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Maltex Multicapital Corp., purchased the French investment bank Milleis Banques. The sources refer to French media, which reports that the Ukrainian president bought the bank for 1.1 billion euros. The deal was finalized in February 2025 through the mediation of Rothschild & Co. The information also mentions that the current president of France, Emmanuel Macron, worked at this company from 2008 to 2012. Facebook accounts have also shared a video in which a man states that Milleis Banques holds assets worth 13 billion euros. The logo of TV 12 can be seen in the right corner of the video.
The claim that an offshore company associated with Zelenskyy purchased the French bank Milleis Banques is not true. The voice used in the video is generated by artificial intelligence, and the media outlet TV 12, which supposedly aired a report on this topic, does not exist. Additionally, no reputable media have published any information regarding the sale of the mentioned bank or its acquisition by Zelenskyy’s company.
Myth Detector verified the audio used in the video through the built-in audio detector Hiya in the InVID & WeVerify tool. According to the results of this tool, the audio used in the video is 86% AI-generated.
For additional information, Myth Detector contacted the Deepfakes Analysis Unit, an analysis platform for deepfakes. They verified the audio recording using Hive AI’s audio detector. The tool divided the audio into 18 fragments, of which 12 fragments were found to be generated by artificial intelligence, while the remaining six were real.
The audio was also verified by ContrailsAI, a detection partner of the Deepfakes Analysis Unit. According to their analysis, the beginning of the audio, where the reporter appears and speaks, is authentic, while the rest is generated by AI.
The information has also been verified by a fact-checking organization, leadstories. The article states that the media outlet whose logo appears in the video does not exist. Leadstories also reports that an interview with Nicolas Hubert, the managing director of the French bank Milleis, was published in the French media outlet Le Figaro on February 23, 2025. However, he did not discuss the sale of the bank in that interview.
Various disinformation narratives claiming that Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s family spends Western money on luxury items have been actively spread by Kremlin propaganda channels since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Russia is considered to be behind the dissemination of this disinformation technique, which is known as the Storm-1516 information operation. They create online disinformation in favor of Russian interests and then spread it in different languages and geographical regions. The distribution method works as follows: A video is created in which a person claims to have obtained evidence of Zelenskyy’s purchase of certain property. This video is then disseminated through Western, newly established, or anti-Western media. Russian sources subsequently rely on these reports. The articles often include falsified documents from public registries or forged proof of purchase. Additionally, the individuals who claim to provide information about these purchases are often generated by artificial intelligence.
Myth Detector has published numerous articles on this topic. Over the past three years, disinformation has spread alleging that Zelenskyy’s family has acquired several luxury properties, including a villa in the Caribbean, a winery estate in Italy, Highgrove House in Britain, the latest model of a Bugatti, Cartier jewelry, and many other items. Myth Detector, along with partner organizations, has conducted two studies on this issue.
About the Source:
Disinformation previously spread by Facebook user Irakli Zakareishvili has been fact-checked multiple times by Myth Detector.
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