Russian oligarch's properties raided in Germany over allegations of money laundering

Numerous properties connected to the Russian oligarch Alisher Usmanov have been searched by hundreds of German police officers.

Two dozen houses in Germany connected to a close associate of President Vladimir Putin have been searched by over 250 police officers for possible money laundering and sanctions violations.

According to the Associated Press, state and federal police were examining 24 residences in Bavaria, Baden-Wuerttemberg, Hamburg, and Schleswig-Holstein, according to prosecutors in Frankfurt and Munich.

According to the OCCRP, German police suspect Usmanov of avoiding taxes by millions of euros and laundering money through his German residences and superyacht, the Dilbar.

Usmanov, who is presently under US and EU sanctions, is one of the richest persons in the world with an estimated net worth of $19.5 billion.

He is a key stakeholder in the Russian industrial group Metalloinvest, the publisher of Kommersant, and a co-owner of the country's second-largest mobile phone provider.

According to Frankfurt prosecutors, the suspect is accused of utilizing a sophisticated network of offshore firms to carry out several multi-million euro transactions between 2017 and 2022.

Prosecutors stated in a statement that there is "a suspicion that the sums transferred resulted from crimes, in particular tax evasion."

The probe, according to Munich's prosecutors, is focused on claims that payments were paid to security firms to secure assets in violation of sanctions laws.

By fLEXI tEAM