Masked police officers raid a house linked to Russian oligarch Usmanov in Rottach-Egern
Quelle: picture alliance/dpa
Putin confidante Alisher Usmanov, who has been on the sanctions list since the attack on Ukraine, has achieved a legal success. The Frankfurt Regional Court ruled that the searches of objects on suspicion of money laundering were inadmissible.
Mith an entourage of 60 investigating officers, the public prosecutor’s office arrived in the port of Bremen last autumn to investigate the 156-metre-long Luxury yacht “Dilbar” to board and search. More or less at the same time, officers in balaclavas and bulletproof vests on the shore of Lake Tegernsee broke into two luxury villas built in the traditional Bavarian style in Rottach-Egern and also turned them upside down.
The concerted action was intended to bring hidden riches such as jewelry and works of art to light and provide evidence of suspected money laundering against a rich and powerful man from Vladimir Putin’s orbit. Now he’s taking legal action.
The objects searched in Bavaria and Bremen are attributed to Alisher Usmanov, an oligarch with an Uzbek and Russian passport. After he was put on the EU sanctions list due to the attack on Ukraine, his yacht was arrested in Hamburg and later towed to Bremen.
The luxury yacht Dilbar was detained on the basis of EU sanctions against Russia
Quelle: picture alliance/dpa
Be Property at Tegernsee, where Usmanov is said to have been staying at the beginning of the war, was also closed by the authorities – but initially not searched by investigators. It was only through the suspicion of money laundering that there was a legal basis for this – or at least supposedly.
Because the state access has just been declared inadmissible by the court, as reported by two law firms who, according to their own statements, have been entrusted with the case.
“The Frankfurt am Main Regional Court has come to the conclusion that the orders requested by the Frankfurt public prosecutor’s office in September 2022 and issued by the Frankfurt am Main District Court to search two properties in Rottach/Egern, a yacht in a port in northern Germany and an apartment were unlawful in a place near Frankfurt am Main,” says the statement by the Hamburg law firm Steinhöfel, which Usmanow claims to represent in terms of media law.
A similar statement was also made by the Munich chancellor Gauweiler & Sauter, who was commissioned by the Uzbek embassy to look after the interests of the Uzbek citizen.
With several legally binding decisions, the court had already determined on May 12, 2023 that the suspicion of alleged “money laundering” against Usmanov “does not exist, never existed”, even in the form of an initial suspicion. The search measures based on this were therefore unlawful and the search warrants would have to be subsequently revoked.
In addition to the two villas and the yacht, the four resolutions also relate to the search of an apartment near Frankfurt, which was attributed to the son of a deceased friend of Usmanow, whom the public prosecutor accused of aiding money laundering after the billionaire helped him buy the property should have. According to the lawyers, the court also declared this raid inadmissible, Usmanov had “demonstrably taxed the money properly”.
The district court of Frankfurt/M. At WELT’s request on Friday, he only confirmed that there was a decision by the 14th criminal division of the regional court in a complaints procedure in the criminal case in question and did not provide any information on its content. Usmanov’s defense welcomed the verdict.
Public Prosecutor’s Office: The proceedings have not yet been completed
The public prosecutor’s office in Frankfurt/M. upheld the court decision, which is not subject to appeal, a spokesman said. At the same time, the prosecuting authority stated that the court had only judged on the basis of the state of affairs from the past year. “We’re a bit further today,” said the spokesman, explaining that the suspicion of money laundering was not necessarily over: “The investigation is not over.”
The verdict does not rule out the use of evidence obtained during the raids, nor is it obliged to hand it over, the spokesman said. Among the confiscated items are said to have been some very valuable jewelry and works of art.
Apparently, Usmanow now sees himself encouraged to take further legal action and would like to take action against what he considers to be unjustified public allegations. “The verdict as such, but even more so the wording of the detailed reasoning of the Frankfurt judges, should not only give the responsible general public prosecutor’s office and the responsible investigative authorities food for thought, but also those who have contributed to the prejudice of our client, which extends far beyond Germany.” it in the statement of the law firm Steinhöfel.
Claims for injunctive relief and damages will be asserted against the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) because of “illegal press releases” and a correction will be demanded. When asked, the BKA replied that it would not comment.
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