The Munich public prosecutor’s office has been investigating the Russian oligarch Alisher Usmanov for more than three years. The accusation: He is said to have not reported frozen assets – a violation of the Foreign Trade Act. Now the proceedings are being discontinued in return for a payment of millions.
The public prosecutor’s office has been investigating the Russian oligarch Alisher Usmanov in three different cases since 2022: for suspected money laundering, on suspicion of violating the Foreign Trade Act and for possible tax evasion.
While the proceedings regarding the accusation of money laundering were discontinued in November 2024 for a payment of four million euros, the other two suspicions were still in the air.
Now the “Süddeutsche Zeitung” reports that the investigation into a possible violation of the Foreign Trade Act has also been ended. The Russian oligarch can “buy his way out” of these. According to the order dated December 11th, the Munich II public prosecutor’s office is demanding a payment of ten million euros from Usmanov. 8.5 million euros will go to the Free State of Bavaria, the rest to social institutions.
Usmanov denies he owns $500 million yacht
The allegations against the man, considered one of Vladimir Putin’s favorite oligarchs, were that he had frozen assets when the sanctions had already been imposed. He is said to have paid 1.5 million euros to a security company that guards two properties in Rottach-Egern, which investigators attributed to Usmanov. However, he claims they don’t belong to him.
In addition, after the sanction, the oligarch is said to have not reported his assets within the EU to the Federal Office of Economics and Export Control (BAFA) as required. Items from the confiscated 156-meter yacht Dilbar, which is worth half a billion euros, are also included – Usmanov still claims to this day that it does not belong to him. He just wants to have rented it.
Investigators explain why they offer Russian oligarch a deal
The investigators believe this is a charade, as they found, among other things, expensive jewelry with Usmanov’s name engraved there. They also found other valuables such as paintings and wines in his villa on Lake Tegernsee. The oligarch claims they belong to a foundation in Switzerland. But after the Russian attack on Ukraine, it suddenly no longer belonged to anyone.
Why did they stop the proceedings anyway? Usmanov has no criminal record, says the Munich II public prosecutor’s office, according to the “Süddeutscher Zeitung”. In addition, the strong media interest in the case has already caused considerable damage to his reputation. The process has also been taking a long time and the Russian oligarch has tried to report his assets to BAFA. But because the declaration was incorrectly addressed, it never got there.
As expected, Usmanov seems to be very interested in ending the proceedings quickly. Immediately after the order, his lawyers contacted the Bundesbank and asked them to approve payments from an account in Uzbekistan – despite the existing sanctions.
According to the “Süddeutscher Zeitung”, no payments had been received from Usmanov as of the beginning of this week. But they should be instructed.
Usmanov could also buy his way out of tax evasion allegations
Now there is still an accusation of tax evasion because the oligarch did not live on Lake Tegernsee for a while, but was said to have lived there for almost a decade. Therefore he would have had to pay taxes there too. Usmanov denies this. If this can be proven to him, he is threatened with a high additional payment of income and gift tax.
The latter may apply to Usmanov because he hid parts of his assets, including villas and yachts, in foundation structures and sometimes named himself and sometimes his sister as beneficiaries. This involves an amount in the millions up to three figures.
If a court determines Usmanov’s tax liability, he will almost certainly face imprisonment – or the public prosecutor’s office will give in here too. Depending on the political world situation, she could also offer to stop the proceedings in return for a monetary payment.
This could then amount to several hundred million euros. This should also be possible for Alisher Usmanov, whose fortune is estimated at around 16 billion US dollars.
