Anti-corruption activists say the family of Khabarovsk's long-time mayor owns six million dollars in U.S. real estate

The family of Alexander Sokolov, who served as mayor of Khabarovsk for a whopping 18 years, owns six homes in the United States worth more than $6 million, according to a new investigative report by Alexey Navalny’s researchers in Khabarovsk. Five of the homes are reportedly in California, and the sixth is apparently in Washington state. Navalny’s team says the real estate was purchased between 2004 and 2018 by Sokolov’s wife, Leonora, and their children Elena and Alexey, who now own the homes.

Navalny’s investigative report suggests that Sokolov either has a U.S. green card or at least applied for one. Someone “close to Sokolov” also reportedly acquired an under-priced government-owned unitary enterprise that owns several shopping malls in Khabarovsk.

Alexander Sokolov served as Khabarovsk’s mayor from 2000 to 2018. Navalny’s report claims that political figures with ties to Sokolov retained their government posts after he stepped down.