"Acquired with honestly earned money": Now the Rottach oligarch Usmanow speaks

Created: 05/30/2022, 19:00

Not yet paid in full: Alisher Unsmanow's press office does not deny that "local specialists" are sitting on unpaid invoices for work on the new building on Forellenstrasse.

It is said that this is due to the sanctions.

As soon as possible, the bills would be settled.

© Klaus Wiendl

The Rottach oligarch Alisher Usmanow is currently on everyone's lips.

Now the billionaire has commented on his assets for the first time - and rejects allegations.

Rottach-Egern

– Alisher Usmanov has not only been at the center of public interest since Putin's attack on Ukraine.

The oligarch's name is on the European Union's sanctions list, along with 30 other Russian billionaires.

His fortune is estimated at $15 billion.

He is known at Tegernsee because he is said to own four properties.

But he now denies this on request.

Usmanov's press office sends extensive statement

The answer from Usmanov's press office is several pages long.

They attempt to put the work of the native Uzbek in a different light.

So far, Usmanov has only been reported as a friend of Putin with the best connections in the Kremlin.

The EU authorities see him as "an oligarch particularly favored by Putin".

He belongs to a circle of Russian businessmen who "were entrusted with the management of financial flows", in which function Usmanov served as a "straw man" for Putin.

As a result, his assets were frozen, as were his other villas across Europe, the superyacht “Dilbar” and the Airbus A300.

Usmanov is seen as a prime example of a Russian oligarch

Freeze means Usmanov cannot rent or resell his homes;

however, they remain his property.

The lawyers call this a “ban on disposal”.

This has been the reporting worldwide so far, fueled by political demands on international stages up to the EU Commission in Brussels.

The USA and Great Britain also put Usmanov on sanctions lists.

He has not been allowed to enter the EU since then.

Everyone sees the 68-year-old as a prime example of a Russian oligarch who is said to have unfairly increased his fortune under Putin's umbrella.

He now contradicts his letter.

Usmanov contradicts: No close ties to the Kremlin

"Usmanov was not involved in the privatization of state assets," his press office said.

He was also not involved in "decisions" made by government officials, nor did he have "the close ties to the Kremlin that he was said to have".

The rise to "businessman" took place in the 1980s with the "successful production of plastic bags".

Usamnov increased his fortune in the 1990s with "trade in securities" and "acquisition of metal companies".

As an investor, he is also involved in Facebook and Twitter, among other things.

Usmanov allegedly divided assets between family and management

With the annexation of Crimea by Putin, however, Usmanov's combat situation has obviously changed, after he had already been exposed to "anti-Russian sanctions" in 2014.

He "gradually" retired from business life and "divided his wealth between his family and the management of his companies."

Since he was childless himself, "his sisters' families" benefited from his wealth.

These are Gulbakhor Ismailova and Saodat Narzieva, but both are also on the sanctions list.

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Property in Rottach-Egern allegedly transferred to the sisters' families

With regard to the real estate (villas, terraced house and boathouse) in Rottach-Egern attributed to Usmanow, his press office points out that these “have been consistently and irrevocably transferred to trust funds in favor of his sisters’ families since at least 2006”.

"All properties in Rottach-Egern, with the exception of the property on Ganghoferstraße, to which neither Mr. Usmanov nor his relatives have any connection whatsoever, were actually acquired by Mr. Usmanov and then handed over to the trusts in favor of his sisters together with the rights of use.

He then rented these at market prices so that his relatives did not have to rent them out to third parties.”

Usmanov: All real estate was bought “with honestly earned money”.

The properties were "acquired with honestly earned money after all taxes were paid and in full compliance with the law," Usmanov said.

He also “categorically rejects” the accusation that “'straw men' were used to buy this property”.

This was "outrageous and unethical in relation to Mr. Usmanov and his sisters' families who own these properties in full compliance with the law."

Usmanow, on the other hand, has good things to say about the “local specialists” who are still sitting on unpaid bills for his new building on Forellenstrasse: “The inability to pay the costs for the company’s services is really related to the sanctions and will be as soon as it becomes so there is an opportunity, paid.”

Klaus Wiendl