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Example photo of a Fabergé ice cream.
This so-called Rothschild egg was sold by auction house Christie's in 2007
Photo:
A2800 epa Rain/ dpa
During the raid on the Russian oligarch Alisher Usmanov on Wednesday, investigators made a curious discovery.
According to SPIEGEL information, investigators apparently confiscated rare jewelry from a safe in a billionaire's villa in Tegernsee.
These could be four so-called Fabergé eggs.
The authenticity of the exclusive pieces of jewelery is now being checked by the authorities.
Fabergé eggs were made by the Russian goldsmith Peter Carl Fabergé from the late 19th century.
They have the shape of Easter eggs, are richly decorated and partly set with pearls and diamonds.
Tsar Alexander III ordered the first eggs.
at Fabergé;
they go back to a Russian Easter custom.
The one-offs are extremely valuable, but difficult to quantify.
In 2007, the so-called Rothschild egg was sold at Christie's in London for around 12.5 million euros.
Many of the eggs are on display in museums, but there are also numerous fakes circulating.
Ten of them are in the Kremlin, six eggs are considered lost.
During the raid on Wednesday, the police gained access to three residential buildings and a warehouse in Rottach-Egern, among other things.
A total of 24 objects were searched.
The aim of the raid was to collect evidence in previously covert proceedings against the billionaire oligarch and Putin friend Alisher Usmanov, among other things on suspicion of money laundering and tax evasion.
Usmanov has an EU visa until 2025
In the past few months, the BKA's Serious and Organized Crime Department has compiled almost 100 suspected money laundering reports from banks that are said to relate to Usmanov's transactions.
So far it is not known whether the officers discovered valuable information during the raid.
When asked by SPIEGEL, Usmanov's spokesman emphasized that the entrepreneur was a law-abiding and careful taxpayer.
He is also one of the world's most generous philanthropists.
After Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine began, Usmanov was placed on the European Union (EU) sanctions list.
According to SPIEGEL information, in recent years he formally came to Germany with an Italian tourist visa that is valid throughout the EU.
So far, security circles suspected that he could currently be in Uzbekistan.
Thanks to this tourist visa, he could theoretically still be in Germany: the visa is valid until 2025.
roll/mamk
