Money laundering and violating Russia sanctions?
Oligarch from Tegernsee in the sights of the investigators
Created: 09/21/2022, 21:20
For years, the Russian-Uzbek billionaire Alisher Usmanow enjoyed the idyllic life on Lake Tegernsee.
Now the authorities moved in with a large contingent.
Rottach-Egern - There are scenes like from a crime scene thriller.
Large-scale operation in Rottach-Egern am Tegernsee.
Residents in Fischerstrasse, Forellenstrasse and Ganghoferstrasse stood excitedly in front of the police barriers on Wednesday morning.
Behind them, 120 officers, some armed with submachine guns, comb through the four villas that are said to belong to the Russian-Uzbek oligarch and alleged Putin confidante Alisher Usmanov either directly or through straw men.
The allegations weigh heavily: two procedures are running against the 69-year-old Usmanow.
The public prosecutor's office in Frankfurt am Main is investigating on suspicion of money laundering.
According to a statement from yesterday, Usmanov, who is not named, is said to have moved an amount in the tens of millions from 2017 to 2022 with a complex network via offshore states.
The money, which
Spiegel
reports of 555 million euros, is said to come from tax evasion crimes.
Targeting Tegernsee oligarch: Did Usmanov circumvent sanctions from Russia?
The second allegation that the Munich II public prosecutor's office is investigating: Usmanov, who, according to Spiegel, is currently believed to be in Uzbekistan, is said to have violated the sanctions imposed on him because of the Ukraine war.
By continuing to pay a security company with frozen funds to guard the properties in Upper Bavaria that are attributable to him.
According to information from our newspaper, it is said to be a security company based in Kiel, whose employees regularly park several Maybach luxury sedans in a neighboring underground car park.
A total of 24 properties in Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg, Schleswig-Holstein and Hamburg were searched.
A total of around 250 officers were deployed.
A spokesman for Usmanov left an inquiry from our newspaper unanswered.
Large-scale operation at Tegernsee: police officers on one of the properties that are said to belong to the Russian-Uzbek billionaire Alischer Usmanow.
© Plettenberg
By the way: everything from the region is also available in our regular Tegernsee newsletter.
Tegernsee: "Panama Papers" got oligarch Usmanow in trouble
For a long time, Usmanow enjoyed life undisturbed at Tegernsee.
The tide slowly turned when he appeared in the revelations surrounding the 2016 Panama Papers.
Even then, the suspicion arose that Usmanov might have concealed high profits through offshore accounts.
After fearing for his wealth of allegedly 14 to 16 billion dollars, he reorganized ownership with a global family trust.
The investigators now have to unravel this network.
Three tax investigators also went to work in Usmanov's main residence.
Because, according to the accusation, Usmanow has had a residence in Bavaria since 2014 at the latest.
The Munich II public prosecutor assumes that the entrepreneur has recently spent months in Germany.
This made him liable for tax in Germany.
However, he failed to meet these obligations.
Investigations against Usmanow: Around 120 officers were deployed in Rottach-Egern alone.
© Plettenberg
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Investigators cited the villa on Fischerstraße as an example, which Usmanow acquired in 2011 for 7.2 million euros via the Isle of Man tax haven.
According to information from our newspaper, his straw men entered him as the "beneficial owner" in the purchase contract.
But Usmanov only wants to rent the villa, as he told our newspaper.
According to research by the Rosenheim tax investigation department, however, he is said to have paid a comparatively low rent of between 2,000 and 4,000 euros.
Therefore, the investigators suspect a hidden profit distribution that should have been reported to the tax office.
Alexander Radwan, the local CSU member of the Bundestag, welcomes the actions of the authorities.
"Usmanow has probably paid expensive PR consultants in recent months to save his image and to express his great love for Tegernsee," says Radwan.
"He is only silent on the Kremlin's brutal war of annihilation." That is why he must continue to be sanctioned with all consequences.
Klaus Wiendl
