German police are searching the Bavarian estate of one of the richest Russian oligarchs, Alisher Usmanov.
This is reported by Spiegel.
We are talking about several objects owned by Usmanov in the area of Lake Tegernsee, which is 60 km south of Munich. As noted, after 2014, Usmanov lived there for a significant part of the time. The search is being conducted by 250 employees of the Federal Criminal Police and the Tax Investigation Service. For months before that, investigators had been gathering information that became the basis for this.
The purpose of the search is to find evidence in the investigation against Usmanov on suspicion of violating trade laws, money laundering and tax evasion. Unofficially, the publication learned that for the period from 2014 to 2022, Usmanov in Germany could avoid paying taxes on income and gifts for 555 million euros.
Part of the source of suspicions against Usmanov was the leak of the so-called "Panama Papers" - from them it follows that the oligarch may have hidden a significant fortune and income thanks to offshore companies and a complicated ownership structure of companies. For example, Usmanov is considered a co-owner of a company registered in the Virgin Islands. In 2014, part of his property there was purchased by another entrepreneur, and Usmanov theoretically should have paid tax to the German budget, but it is not known whether he did so. Also, Usmanov could hide from the German tax authorities significant dividends from his shares in Russia.
German authorities became more interested in Usmanov after he was included in the list of EU sanctions in connection with the Russian Federation's war against Ukraine - because he is a person from Putin's close circle.
It was recently reported that the names of Usmanov's sister and several other people have disappeared from the list of EU sanctions.