MENAGGIO, MILAN – The Lake Como villa of Russian oligarch Vladimir Solovyev was set alight on Thursday, most likely as a deliberate protest against the Putin supporter, said local authorities.

 The fire on the villa began at around 6:30 a.m. and was soon noticed by neighbour who called the fire brigade immediately.

 The carabinieri analysed video footage from the security cameras and have launched an investigation to track down the people responsible for the arson. The initial investigation indicates that the action was very likely intentional.

 Solovyev, 58, is a television presenter on channel one of Russia's state television network. He is the owner of three properties on Lake Como that have already been seized by the Italian government as part of economic sanctions against oligarchs.

 The villa that was set alight is located in an isolated area in the upper part of the town of Menaggio, overlooking the Lake Como.

 The arson was probably an act of a demonstration against the 'propaganda' on Russia's state news. It caused limited damage to the residence, because "the fire was in fact set only on some tires outside the building under renovation."

 According to the investigators “if he really wanted to burn the villa, whoever set it alight would have ignited the flames in a very different way.”

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