Search of Alisher Usmanov’s Home Ignites Criminal Case in Germany
Uzbek-born Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov has filed a complaint alleging a violation of his rights by officers of the General Prosecutor’s Office in Frankfurt am Main. A criminal case has been opened against two prosecutors, according to the German newspaper, Bild.
In 2022, Usmanov was accused of money laundering, prompting law enforcement to search his villas on Lake Tegernsee in Germany, his apartment near Frankfurt am Main, and his yacht, Dilbar, then moored at the port of Bremen. In 2023, a Frankfurt am Main court ruled that the authorities’ actions were illegal. The court ordered the return of property confiscated during the search to Usmanov, but this has not been fulfilled. Currently, a preliminary investigation is underway as per Usmanov’s complaint.
According to Forbes, Alisher Usmanov ranks eighth among Russian billionaires, with a net worth estimated at $14.4 billion. The oligarch has been under EU sanctions since 2022, and is suspected of money laundering and tax evasion. Usmanov appealed the EU sanctions, saying they will lead to the bankruptcy of major Russian companies in which he holds large stakes – MegaFon, Metalloinvest and Udokan Copper, noted The Wall Street Journal.
Sanctions have also been imposed on Usmanov’s cronies. In particular, the U.K. has previously imposed restrictions on the billionaire’s sister, Saodat Nurziyeva. It was reported that around ten accounts in the Swiss bank, Credit Suisse, with assets in excess of $2 billion were registered under her name. Another sister of the billionaire, Gulbahor Ismailova, and his adopted son, Nathan (Anton) Wiener, were also included in the sanctions lists.
Earlier this year, the Russian newspaper, RBC reported that Usmanov has said he plans to stop doing business and resign from the board of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs. According to Usmanov, after this, he intends to engage in philanthropy.