Franz J. Sedelmayer

“Welcome to Putingrad” (2018)

At age 26 Franz Sedelmayer went to St. Petersburg Russia where he built a successful police supply and training company. One of his biggest supporters was St. Petersburg's young deputy mayor, Vladimir Putin. Putin and Franz bonded and Putin became one of Franz's biggest supporters. But when Franz's company was expropriated by President Boris Yeltsin, Putin did nothing to help his friend. Franz sued for damages. He won, but Russia--and its new President, Vladimir Putin--refused to pay. But Franz persevered, and he won: he foreclosed on Russian properties in Europe. Incredibly, Franz is the only individual ever to collect money from Vladimir Putin's Russia.