Kremlin slams Navalny 'palace' claims as nonsense

The Kremlin on Wednesday dismissed an investigation into what opposition figure Alexei Navalny calls "Putin's palace" as "groundless allegations".

It's nonsense and a compilation (of fabrications), and nothing else, said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov. "That's the principal goal of such documents, such pseudo-investigations. It's a scam. On Tuesday, Navalny's Foundation for Fighting Corruption released a two-hour video investigation into an estate on Russia's the Black Sea that it said cost $1.3 billion and was allegedly funded through an elaborate corruption scheme involving Putin's inner circle.

In the video, produced and recorded before his arrest on Sunday, Navalny claims that the estate and grounds that Russian media had linked to Putin years ago is 39 times the size of Monaco.The video featured drone footage of the estate and detailed floor plans that Navalny says were leaked to his team by a contractor.

Among the 3D images of interiors that the team said were created based on the floor plans and other sources were a hookah lounge, a small theater and a casino room.

Navalny was detained Sunday evening after he returned to Russia from Germany following treatment for poisoning with a nerve agent.On Tuesday, the Kremlin brushed aside calls from the West for his release.