Putin's Alleged Daughters Appear on Website of Exiled Russian Banker

Previously unseen images of the rumored daughters of the Russian president have emerged on the website of an exiled billionaire businessman credited with helping bring Vladimir Putin to power but who later fell out of favor with the Kremlin.

Katerina Tikhonova and Maria Vorontsova have been identified in a number of media reports over the years as Putin's daughters although neither they, nor the Russian president, have ever publicly confirmed this.

Sergei Pugachev, 57, was once worth an estimated $15 billion which he amassed in the post-Soviet era through business interests which included shipyards, coal and luxury goods, the BBC reported.

Currently suing the Russian government for the loss of his assets, Pugachev's website features photos from the early 2000s of his sons, Alexander and Viktor, posing with teenage girls, which the Open Media website reported were Putin's daughters.

The captions state that the photos were taken at Pugachev's home and at the Kremlin. One photo shows Putin's supposed daughters with the pop group "Strelki," according to Open Media.

The images have renewed interest in the identities of the daughters of Putin, who always deflects any questions about his family.

It is unclear why the images have come to light now, with Moscow-based journalist Marc Bennetts tweeting that Pugachev had told him they had been on his website for "ten years" and that "no one has ever paid attention to them." Newsweek has contacted Pugachev for comment.

Considered a confidant to the Russian president during his ascent to power, Pugachev was dubbed "Putin's banker" but later fell out with the Kremlin after the financial crisis of 2008, fleeing his native land three years later, claiming he was the victim of political persecution.

This week, the Hague International Arbitration Court refused to consider his attempt to sue Russia for $14.5 billion to compensate for his lost assets, which he says were expropriated by the Russian authorities. His lawyers will continue to pursue the case, according to a statement on his website.

The co-founder of Russia's International Industrial Bank (Mezhprombank), Pugachev is on an international wanted list in connection with bankrupting the bank.

Putin's alleged eldest daughter, Vorontsova, now 35, is a pediatric endocrinologist, who will help develop a new center for genetic research in Moscow, according to the BBC Russian Service.

Tikhonova, 33, runs a number of publicly funded projects and last year was elected to a government council for the development of sport and exercise. She also heads Moscow university's artificial intelligence institute, called the Innopraktika foundation, The Moscow Times reported.