Russian billionaire Arkady Rotenberg says 'Putin Palace' is his

Russian oligarch Arkady Rotenberg says he is the owner of an opulent Black Sea mansion, not President Vladimir Putin, as the leaders' critics had alleged.

A recent investigation into the vast palace went viral and has now been watched more than 100m times.

The Russian president rubbished reports he owned the resort earlier this week.

Mr Rotenberg, a billionaire with close links to Mr Putin, went public claiming to be the owner on Saturday.

The revelation came in an interview posted on the pro-Kremlin Mash Telegram channel, before being confirmed to the Interfax news agency.

"I have managed to strike a deal with creditors a few years ago, and I became a beneficiary of this site a few years ago," Mr Rotenberg's press office quoted him as saying.

Mr Rotenberg said the property will be completed "in a couple of years" and is expected to become an apartment hotel.

Controversy over the property has been rife in Russia following the publication of the documentary by jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny's team earlier this month.

Their investigation alleged the property cost £1bn ($1.37bn) and was paid for "with the largest bribe in history".

The allegations helped spur on protests held throughout the country last weekend in support of Mr Navalny - the biggest seen against President Putin in years.

Mr Rotenberg is a huge figure in Russia as the owner of huge construction firms which build infrastructure like bridges and gas pipelines. He is known to be close to Mr Putin as a former childhood friend and judo partner.

The businessman has been under US sanctions since 2014, when officials described him as a member of the "Russian leadership's inner circle" who they claimed provided "support for Putin's pet projects".