German prosecutors will close the investigation into Russian oligarch Alisher Usmanov
Russian oligarch Alisher Usmanov said today that he had paid 8.5 million euros to the public treasury in Germany, where prosecutors have agreed to terminate an investigation into alleged money laundering and breaches of sanctions.
Usmanov’s representatives said in a statement that his legal defense had disputed the allegations made by German prosecutors.
Along with the payment of 8.5 million euros ($10 million) to the treasury, Usmanov’s representatives said he had contributed 1.5 million euros ($1.8 million) to German charities. Prosecutors have agreed to end their probe once the funds are received.
“The payment does not represent a fine or other type of measure similar to punishment,” Usmanov’s representatives said.
In its sanctions notice, the EU said he has “particularly close ties to the President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin.”
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Later that year, German authorities carried out raids on properties they linked to Usmanov as part of an investigation into alleged sanctions violations. As a sanctioned individual, Usmanov was required to declare his assets in Germany.
Usmanov’s representatives said there were “suspicions” that he had used “foreign entities” to pay about 1.5 million euros for security services at two properties, and that he allegedly failed to declare assets including “jewelry, artwork and a supply of wines.”
“Usmanov’s defense disputed his links to the entities and valuables in question as a matter of fact, and the applicability of the EU sanctions regulations in the context of the present case, as a matter of law,” according to his statement.
In its Russian Asset Tracker, OCCRP linked Usmanov to more than a dozen luxury properties across Europe, as well as bank accounts, boats and aircraft.
A representative of Usmanov told OCCRP at the time that he had never benefited from the Russian government nor from the privatization of state assets, and that his capital was obtained solely through transparent investment and asset management.
They added that the ownership of most properties had been transferred to his family, and that he could only use them on a rental basis.