The French prosecutor's office has launched a new investigation into the daughter of Russian oligarch Suleiman Kerimov, 32-year-old Gulnara Kerimova. Bloomberg writes about it.
JUNALCO, the French prosecutor's office responsible for fighting organized crime, plans to find out how Kerimova was able to acquire the companies that own four villas in Billionaires' Cove on the Côte d'Azur. Prosecutors are going to find the ultimate beneficiaries of the property. This is a continuation of a money laundering case initiated in 2017 in Nice.
According to Bloomberg sources, the investigation is based on the June report of the Office of Intelligence and Combating Underground Financial Schemes (TRACFIN). According to him, Kerimova spent €268 million on the acquisition of structures that own real estate. Most of the money was provided by her brother Said.
It is noteworthy that, although Karimov himself is under EU sanctions, these villas are not included in the list of his frozen assets. The money laundering case in question was brought against him for tax evasion. For several months, Karimov was actually under house arrest in France. He was able to leave for Russia only in 2018 – as Dozhd wrote, at the personal request of Putin. After that, all charges were dropped from him.