Is Putin friend at Tegernsee resisting sanctions against Russia?

Task force "very slow"

Created: 04/22/2022, 20:53

The luxury estate of the oligarch Alisher Usmanow is located on Lake Tegernsee.

These and other assets have been frozen due to Russia sanctions.

But there is criticism.

Rottach-Egern – Russian oligarchs like Alisher Usmanow, who temporarily lived in Rottach-Egern, have amassed huge fortunes in Germany.

Although these have been frozen by the EU sanctions, German authorities have problems with being able to capitalize on them.

They're gone.

The two parking spaces in the Rottach-Egern underground car park have been empty since Thursday afternoon.

Until then, they served as a hiding place for two luxury vehicles.

Depending on the equipment, you can quickly put half a million euros on the table for both.

The luxury cars were attributed to Putin's friend and oligarch Usmanov.

He, too, has disappeared from the valley, along with his entire entourage of bodyguards, security guards and servants for his lakeside villa.

Is Putin friend at Tegernsee resisting sanctions against Russia?

Task force "very slow"

Even the electricity is said to have been switched off in the meantime, according to people who still have access to Usmanov's "second home".

The native Uzbek with a Russian passport has acquired a total of four properties through shell companies in the tax haven of the Isle of Man.

German authorities would like to confiscate them after the 68-year-old ended up on the EU sanctions list (we reported).

Miesbach's district administrator, Olaf von Löwis, would have liked to confiscate the property immediately.

But it's not that easy.

Ukraine war: How badly will the sanctions against Russia hit the Tegernsee oligarch?

Not only is the oligarch's assets hidden in a huge network of letterbox companies, the EU sanctions also prohibit "commercial exploitation" of the possessions, as a spokesman for the responsible Federal Ministry of Economics explains on request.

"Freezing economic resources is intended to prevent economic exploitation." Against this background, a listed person may no longer sell property, a notary may not certify such a transaction and a court "does not make any corresponding changes in the land register".

Should Usmanov violate the sanctions, the house could be confiscated.

Then he wouldn't be allowed to live there anymore.

In any case, he would remain the owner.

It would be different if the Putin confidante and multiple billionaire had violated criminal law, explains Matthias Enzler from the Munich public prosecutor's office.

The only option for crimes such as money laundering would be asset confiscation.

"If you had a concrete suspicion of a criminal offense in connection with the real estate here with Mr. Usmanow, then the assets could be confiscated as part of a procedure."

Tegernsee oligarch Alisher Osmanow is hit by Russian sanctions over the Ukraine war.

© Klaus Wiendl/IMAGO / ITAR-TASS, assembly: Merkur.de

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Tegernsee: Yacht from oligarch Usmanow in the port of Hamburg on the chain

At least in one case this has already been achieved with a confiscation from Usmanow.

His yacht “Dilbar” is now chained up in Hamburg.

The BKA task force "Investigation Group Ukraine" was able to prove that he had signed the 600 million luxury liner over to his sister at an early stage, which is now also on the EU sanctions list.

"The Dilbar was legally fixed and thus permanently prevented from leaking in violation of sanctions," said the spokesman for the Federal Ministry of Economics.

The task force is "a nice start", says Rottacher Bundestag member Alexander Radwan (CSU), but in the "penetration" it is "very slow", too much time is lost.

“But if we could freeze the assets now, there would be enough time to create a legal basis for the confiscation.

Then the sanctioned could not get hold of their assets.”

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