A Polish documentary team investigating the hidden wealth of modern autocrats may have uncovered a previously little-known Spanish villa linked to Vladimir Putin. The investigation forms part of Palaces of Power: Private Worlds of Dictators, a new documentary produced by Warsaw-based Inbornmedia, commissioned by RTL in Germany and now entering global distribution through Off the Fence.

During filming in southern Spain, the production teamed up with British investigative journalist Jon Clarke to investigate the heavily guarded Roca del Rey estate near Marbella. The trail included documents and connections that raised questions about a possible link to Putin. While the filmmakers stress that they cannot establish Putin as the property's beneficial owner, the findings were significant enough to become part of the documentary.

The Spanish investigation is one strand of a wider film exploring the extraordinary private worlds of today's autocrats.

From Vladimir Putin's alleged €1.4 billion Black Sea palace, reportedly featuring a private casino and underground hockey arena, to the high-security seaside compounds of Kim Jong Un, the film explores how political power can be transformed into extraordinary private wealth. It also traces the evolution of modern kleptocracy through the vast real estate empire associated with Ferdinand Marcos Sr. in the Philippines, as well as properties and fortunes connected to Nursultan Nazarbayev and Zine El Abidine Ben Ali.

The documentary brings together journalists, researchers and experts from around the world, including democracy scholar Larry Diamond of Stanford University, investigative journalist Mikhail Rubin of Proekt, Martyn Williams, Apa Ongpin, Moez Ben Gharbia, Ilya Ponomarev, Tom Mayne and Leila Seiitbek of Freedom for Eurasia.

Their testimony is combined with investigative material, exclusive archive footage, satellite imagery provided by Airbus Defence and Space, and visual reconstructions to reveal a world normally hidden from public view.

Christian Hensgens, Channel Manager NTV at RTL Television, commissioned the project. The film is directed by Filip Slinko and produced by Inbornmedia in co-production with Ukraine's 1+1 Media, whose contribution included rare footage and an exclusive interview with a former member of the Russian State Duma.

"Palaces of Power offers an eye-opening perspective on how political power translates into extraordinary personal wealth. It's an ambitious investigation into a world that is rarely seen from the inside," said Christian Hensgens, Channel Manager NTV at RTL Television.

"We started out making a film about the extraordinary properties of modern autocrats, but at some point the production itself turned into an investigation. Following the trail in Spain and ending up outside a heavily guarded villa that may have links to Putin was certainly not something we had expected when we started the project," said Maciej Pawelczyk, CEO and Executive Producer at Inbornmedia.

Palaces of Power: Private Worlds of Dictators is executive produced by Maciej Pawelczyk and Radosław Wikiera for Inbornmedia.

Global distribution is handled by Off the Fence, bringing the documentary to broadcasters and platforms worldwide.