Month: February 2018

AS Monaco majority owner Dimitri Rybolovlev has been drawn into the world’s media spotlight again, although this time it’s not because of his protracted feud with art dealer Yves Bouvier, but due to his purchase ten years ago of the Florida mansion that once belonged to Donald Trump.

A senior Democratic senator, Ron Wyden, has asked the US Treasury Department to make public documents relating to the sale of the six-acre estate in Palm Beach to Mr Rybolovlev for €77 million ($95 million) at the height of the global economic crisis in 2008. The price was one of the highest-ever paid for a single property.

The current US President had bought the property for less than half the price, just €33 million ($41 million), four years previously. Mr Rybolovlev later demolished the building amid reports of rising damp, and sold off the land in lots.

Senator Wyden, who is on the powerful Senate Intelligence Committee, wrote in a letter to Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin: “It is imperative that Congress follow the money and conduct a thorough investigation into any potential money laundering or other illicit financial dealings between the president, his associates, and Russia.”

Bloomberg News reported last July that Robert Mueller, the special counsel investigating possible Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential elections, was also looking into Russian purchases of Trump real estate properties.

A spokesperson for Mr Rybolovlev issued a statement last week: “When the Rybolovlev family trust acquired the property in Palm Beach in 2008, it was made very clear that the purchase was an investment. The transaction was publicly announced and widely covered by the US media. There was no suggestion whatsoever of any impropriety about the purchase.

“What is more, the investment today remains on track to deliver a significant return to the trust.  The first two lots of the property have sold for $71.3 million and the final lot has been listed for $42 million.”

In 2016, then candidate Trump told ABC News that the sale of the mansion was one of the few times he had ever done business directly with a Russian national. The now-gone seven-bedroom home had a garage that could accommodate 80 cars, while the house itself had marble floors, bulletproof windows, and a full-sized ballroom.

READ ALSO 

Rybolovlev lawyer denies texting accusations

After the last major exhibition devoted to the works of Hercule Florence, Villa Paloma has reopened to present a retrospective of Alfredo Volpi, with the support of the Instituto Alfredo Volpi de Arte Moderna and curated by Cristiano Raimondi.

Alfredo Volpi was born in Lucca, Italy in 1896, and died in Sao Paulo, Brazil, in 1988. He was a major Brazilian artist who NMNM is proud to present, for the first time in Europe, in a retrospective of 70 works: starting with oils on canvas, country folk or urban landscapes in the 30s and 40s, to the works of the 50s, 60s and 70s with their new colours and painting techniques, the public will discover a fascinating artist.

Despite the success achieved in the last three decades of his life, the story of Volpi is that of a simple and reserved man who dedicated his entire life to his work without ever forgetting where he came from. A man who, every day of his life, until the age of 88, built his own frames on which he himself stretched the canvas to apply himself the meticulously prepared pigments and create the magic of colour.

Like Morandi for the Italians, Volpi the colourist has become a hero and a true legend in Brazil.

“Alfredo Volpi, the poetry of colour” runs until May 20 at Villa Paloma, 56 blvd du Jardin Exotique. Open daily 10 am to 6 pm, admission is €6 but free on Sunday.

READ ALSO 

A day in the life of the Prince

Un grand et beau meeting pour conclure cette campagne électorale. Dimanche, votez et faites voter Liste Entière @PrimoMonaco ! #Monaco #ElectionsMonaco2018 @MarineGRISOUL @namepierre @BadiaJos @FranckJULIEN @BocconePages @RinaldiPatrick @Dittlot1 @TBrezzo_mc @ pic.twitter.com/emBnRaQhHv

— Stéphane VALERI (@stephanevaleri) February 9, 2018

Elections for Monaco’s National Council, which took place yesterday, resulted in a landslide win for Stéphane Valeri’s “Primo” group, otherwise known as Priority Monaco.

It was clear within a few hours of the polls closing at 7 pm on Sunday, February 11, that Primo had won by a wide margin. Overnight it was announced that two candidates had been elected for Horizon Monaco and one for the Union Monegasque, giving Primo 21 of the 24 seats in the parliamentary assembly.

Turnout was down from 74.4 percent in 2013 to 70.35 percent.

Half an hour before midnight Stéphane Valeri, the former Minister of Health and Social Affairs, told his supporters they had won a very big victory.

The new leader of the National Council, who served for several years as its president some years ago, added: “I want to warmly thank the Monegasques who have given us a very big victory tonight. Their confidence gives us the legitimacy necessary to give the National Council its full place among [Monaco’s] institutions.”

“Now that the electoral period is over, I appeal to compatriots of all sensibilities, so that tomorrow the great Monegasque family, united behind our Sovereign Prince, will come together.”

Among the personalities elected on the Primo list are Jose Badia, former foreign minister, and Guillaume Rose, formerly head of the Tourism and Conventions office.

See full results here.

READ ALSO

News

As part of an operation to secure certain sites in the Principality, terminals will soon be set up roadside around the perimeter of the Place d’Armes.

Retractable bollards will allow access to Place du Marché by emergency and authorised vehicles.

The work will last six months starting from February 12, and will be carried out in successive phases, without any disruption to traffic.

Photo: Facebook Gouvernement Monaco

READ ALSO

Work resumes on the north extension of Quai Albert 1er

Monday afternoon at the Oceanographic Museum, and as part of Explorations Monaco, a screening of the documentary film “The Prince and the Sea” was held in the presence of 300 Monaco students from Albert I, François d’Assises Nicolas Barré (FANB), Charles III College and the International School of Monaco.

The pedagogical afternoon allowed young students to discover the scientific and humanistic objectives pursued by the Monaco Explorations, and to show that today, more than ever, it is important to raise awareness of the fragility of marine ecosystems and the importance of their role for the future of humanity.

The subject was then debated during a lively and interesting exchange between students, Robert Calcagno, Director of the Oceanographic Institute and Campaign Manager 2017/2020, and Pierre Gilles, Chief of Mission in Macaronesia.

To continue the experience and immersion in the marine world, the students were warmly invited to attend the 2nd edition of the Monaco Ocean Week (April 8-14), including the workshop “Conservation seal monk” – one of the most endangered species in the world for which the Prince Albert II Foundation is particularly committed – which will take place on Thursday, April 12 at the Oceanographic Museum. Students will be able to discover the results and the conclusions of this meeting of experts, following the one that took place aboard the Yersin in Madeira last September.

After the educational program launched in primary schools in September, this first meeting with high school students marked the kick-off of a rich and intense educational program, which will last until the end of September.

Until the end of February, the public can also visit the photo exhibit “Mission Macaronesia” with 22 images in “XXL” format in the museum’s Conference Room.

READ ALSO

Princely family celebrate Yersin’s departure from Monaco Yacht Cub

The “Jeun’Elec” program of the Electric Vehicles Club of Monaco held a session on Friday with volunteer students from Charles III and François d’Assise Nicolas Barré.

The event on February 8 took place at the Parking des Pêcheurs with a presentation of all modes of electric transport – scooters, electric bikes, cars and karts. A road safety workshop, led by the Department of Public Safety, was offered to the 4th graders likely to drive a two-wheeler.

Beyond the simple test of electric vehicles, the objective of the day was to make students aware of the need to respect the environment by limiting pollution related to urban transport and to promote the notion of inter-modality.

In preparation for the day, all students in the 4th grade benefited from a pedagogical session around these themes.

At the end of this awareness-raising process, the students were invited to participate in a competition on the theme of electric mobility. The awards ceremony for this contest will take place during the EVER Forum, on Wednesday, April 11, in the presence of Prince Albert.

READ ALSO

Monte Carlo eRally 100 percent clean, 38 take part