Russian President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman has denied accusations by New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft that Mr. Putin pocketed his Super Bowl ring during an encounter in 2005.
“I took out the ring and showed it to [Mr. Putin]. And he put it on and he goes, ’I can kill someone with this ring,’” Mr. Kraft said at an awards gala Thursday night in New York, according to the New York Post. “I put my hand out and he put it in his pocket, and three KGB guys got around him and walked out.”
Mr. Putin has denied the claim, saying the ring was a gift.
“What Mr. Kraft is saying now is weird,” spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. “I was standing 20 centimeters away from him and Mr. Putin and saw and heard how Mr. Kraft gave this ring as a gift.”
Mr. Kraft also charged that when he demanded his ring back, the White House intervened and asked him to claim it was a gift to avoid souring relations with Russia, the New York Post reported. The White House has not responded to the claim.
The New England Patriots declined to comment Saturday.
The ring is worth more than $15,000, according to multiple reports from 2005, CNN said.
• Jessica Chasmar can be reached at jchasmar@washingtontimes.com.
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