Claim: Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s wife, Olena Zelenska, purchased a Bugatti sports car worth 4.4 million euros with American taxpayers’ money.Claim: Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s wife, Olena Zelenska, purchased a Bugatti sports car worth 4.4 million euros with American taxpayers’ money. Rating: False Evidence: * Bugatti Automobiles SAS denies the claim and is filing criminal charges for counterfeiting and libel. * The invoice in question lacks necessary legal and financial details, including order number, VAT identification number, and seller address. * The Car Lovers Group, which owns Bugatti Paris, also denies the transaction and is filing a criminal complaint for forgery and defamation. * PolitiFact has also debunked the claim.
President Biden announces security deal with Ukraine
President Joe Biden and President Zelenskyy announced a security agreement at the G7 summit that will give Ukraine $50 billion in frozen Russian assets.
The claim: Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s wife bought a nearly $5 million Bugatti
A July 1 Instagram post (direct link, archive link) shows what appears to be an invoice from automaker Bugatti for a purchase price of nearly $5 million, sent to Olena Zelenska, the wife of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
“The wife of Ukrainian President Zelensky just bought a Bugatti sports car worth 4.4 MILLION euros with American taxpayers’ money,” the message reads.
The post received more than 400 likes in four days. Similar versions of the claim were shared on Facebook, Instagram, Threads and X, formerly Twitter.
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Our rating: False
The automaker denied the claim, saying it is filing criminal charges for counterfeiting and libel, among other alleged crimes. The invoice in the mail lacks numerous necessary legal and financial details.
Bugatti denies claims about Zelenskyy purchase
Nicole Auger, a spokesperson for Bugatti, told USA TODAY that the claim is false.
“Bugatti Automobiles SAS is aware of reports suggesting that Ms. Olena Zelenska, the First Lady of Ukraine, recently purchased a Bugatti vehicle,” Auger said in an email. “(Bugatti) respects the privacy of its customers and does not normally release information about its customers. In this case, (Bugatti) is making an exception because it is a false report and does not reflect the truth. According to an internal review, Ms. Zelenska is not a customer of Bugatti.”
Check facts: Zelenskyy did not buy $20 million Florida mansion; property is still for sale
The claim was also debunked on social media by Bugatti Paris and the Center for Countering Disinformation, an organ of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council. Both traced the claim to a video shared by a man claiming to be an employee of a Bugatti Paris dealership. The dealership is run by Autofficina Parigi and owned by the Car Lovers Group.
“A supposed businessman claiming to be from the Car Lovers group and the Schumacher Group sports brand has published a video on social networks showing that the Bugatti dealership in Paris allegedly sold a vehicle to the Ukrainian presidential couple, Mr. and Mrs. Zelensky,” reads a translation of Bugatti’s July 2 Instagram post.
“In an attempt to establish this false information, the author of the video published an alleged invoice for the sale of a Bugatti Tourbillon vehicle, on behalf of Ms. Olena Zelenska, dated June 7, 2024. The Car Lovers Group strongly denies both the existence of this transaction and, therefore, the existence of this invoice.”
The group pointed to several indicators that the invoice was fraudulent, including the lack of legal declarations and incorrect pricing. The invoice also lacks information such as the order number, VAT identification number and seller address, which are required for French invoices.
The Car Lovers Group published the same statement on its website, saying it was filing a criminal complaint “for forgery, use of forgeries, misuse of identity and defamation.”
USA TODAY previously debunked false claims that Zelenskyy has $1.2 billion in offshore accounts, 15 homes, three planes and a monthly income of $11 million; and that he had purchased a $20 million mansion in Florida.
USA TODAY reached out to the user who shared the post for comment, but did not immediately receive a response.
PolitiFact has also debunked the claim.
Our fact-checking sources:
- Nicole Auger, July 2, email exchange with USA TODAY
- Center for Countering Disinformation, July 1, X-post
- Bugatti Paris, July 2, Instagram post
- Car enthusiasts, July 2, Press release
- Ministry of Economy, Finance and Industrial and Digital Sovereignty, April 27, 2023, Mandatory information on an invoice: everything you need to know!
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