Alisher Usmanov’s homes were once again searched in Germany

In Germany, police and customs officials searched several facilities in Germany belonging to Russian oligarch Alisher Usmanov, Reuters reports.

According to Bild, five cars, including a Mercedes Maybach S500 worth about 140,000 euros and a Mercedes Brabus van worth about 180,000 euros, as well as other material values, were seized during a search in the vicinity of Munich and at a villa in the Bavarian commune of Rottach-Egern. Other details are not disclosed.

Usmanov’s representative did not answer the agency’s questions.

In September of last year, employees of the Federal Criminal Service and the Tax Service searched Usmanov’s villas on Lake Tegernsee, an apartment in Frankfurt am Main and the yacht “Dilbar” in the port of Bremen. Documents and valuable art objects were seized. According to Der Spiegel, the court of second instance in Frankfurt am Main declared these searches illegal.

During the investigation, employees of the Department for Combating Organized Crime of the Federal Criminal Service received from various banks about 90 cases of suspicion of money laundering. The investigation revealed suspicious transactions on Usmanov’s accounts.

But during the consideration of the case, the court recognized that the investigators did not sufficiently justify why Usmanov is suspected of money laundering. Just pointing out the dubious practice of doing business in tax havens is not enough for such a decision, the court noted.

The court also criticized the fact that the arguments of the investigators were mostly based on a video published on YouTube by Alexei Navalny’s associates.

Alisher Usmanov is one of the richest people in Russia. According to the latest estimates of Forbes magazine, his fortune is estimated at almost 14.4 billion euros. After Russia’s attack on Ukraine, Usmanov was sanctioned by the European Union, the United States, and Great Britain.