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A case against the Russian-Uzbek billionaire Alisher Usmanov has been discontinued in return for a conditional payment of ten million euros. The Munich II public prosecutor’s office announced that the proceedings on suspicion of violations of the Foreign Trade Act had been temporarily shelved. It will be finalized once payment has been received. Both the responsible Munich II Regional Court and Usmanow himself approved the procedure.
Usmanov, who is considered a close confidant of Russian President Vladimir Putin, has been on the sanctions list since the start of the Ukraine war in February 2022 EU. However, he is said to have activated around 1.5 million euros of his frozen assets via foreign companies in April and September 2022 in order to pay a security company to guard two properties in Rottach-Egern am Tegernsee. Like, among other things, the South German newspaper reportedseveral valuables such as paintings, jewelry and expensive wines were found on the oligarch’s yacht, which Usmanov did not report to the authorities as required.
His defense attorneys rejected the allegations. Usmanov himself claimed that neither the real estate in question, the yacht nor the valuables found on it belonged to him. The investigators considered this information to be false: Shortly before the sanctions, the billionaire had paid off a loan that was intended for the purchase of the yacht, reported SZ. Several of the valuables also had the oligarch’s name engraved on them. The investigators estimate the total value of the assets seized in this country and not reported by Usmanov at 8.7 million euros.
Several cases against Usmanov
The public prosecutor’s office justified the decision to close the proceedings with several legally unresolved questions in connection with the EU sanctions imposed on Usmanov. In addition, “some of these were formal violations,” the authority said. At the same time, she emphasized that the dismissal was not a conviction or an admission of guilt. The presumption of innocence still applies. 8.5 million euros of the edition will flow into the Bavarian state treasury and benefit 1.5 million charitable organizations in Bavaria.
Several proceedings are underway against Usmanov, whose fortune is estimated at up to $18.8 billion. However, the investigations into suspected money laundering, like the proceedings that have now ended, have already been completeddiscontinued in November 2024 – also against a payment of money. Another investigation into possible tax evasion is still ongoing. Usmanov defends himself partly with success legally against the investigation.
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