The Frankfurt District Court declared illegal several searches carried out last year in the homes of Alisher Usmanov in Germany in the case of money laundering . Der Spiegel reports . At the same time, the billionaire failed to appeal against the searches conducted in Germany at Usmanov's in another case (on violation of sanctions).
In September, members of the Federal Criminal Police Office and the Tax Investigation Department searched several of Usmanov's villas on Lake Tegernsee, an apartment near Frankfurt am Main, and the Dilbar mega yacht in the port of Bremen. As part of the searches, investigators seized documents and valuable art objects.
According to Der Spiegel, the court found serious flaws in the search warrants. The accusation that Usmanov's fortune was built on crimes committed in Russia was considered too general by the court.
“Furthermore, the judges criticized the fact that the investigators based their arguments to a large extent on a YouTube video by Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny. They did not provide any other evidence of improper business practices, ”the publication says.
Usmanov's lawyers said the decision strengthened their client's confidence in Germany's constitutional state. They deny all charges. However, as noted by Der Spiegel, it is unlikely that the confiscated items and documents will be returned to Usmanov in the near future, since the searches were carried out with the decisions of other criminal cases against Usmanov. Recently, the Munich District Court dismissed Usmanov's complaint about searches in sanctions violation proceedings.
Usmanov is one of the richest businessmen in Russia. In 2022, the entrepreneur entered the Top 250 richest people in the UK, he earned a fortune of £ 14 billion in the mining and metallurgical industry. Usmanov – co-owner Russian concern USM Holdings, a conglomerate with interests in the mining industry and owner of the second largest mobile operator in Russia, MegaFon. He is also the owner of a large stake in the London football club Arsenal.
Usmanov is considered a figure close to Russian President Vladimir Putin. The US, EU and UK imposed sanctions against the businessman after the Russian invasion of Ukraine.