(ATR) Vladimir Putin handed out medals to Russian billionaires who invested in the Sochi Olympics in a private ceremony hosted by the Kremlin.
The event was closed to the media, and Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov declined to comment to a Russian business newspaper on the ceremony.
Sberbank CEO German Gref, Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller, and businessmen Vladimir Potanin and Oleg Deripaska were reportedly honored and in attendance.
The awards come after Vladmir Putin honored 300 journalists for their pro-Russian reports during the Crimea crisis. Russia reportedly spent $51 billion on the Sochi Olympics.
Critics claim the Games investment was marred by corruption, though no formal investigation has taken place.
Russia’s sporting community now turns its attention to hosting the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
Written by Aaron Bauer
20 Years at #1: Your best source of news about the Olympics is AroundTheRings.com, for subscribers only.
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