«Dilbar» superyacht of Usmanov was organized a search.

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German police investigating money laundering charges against Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov searched his Dilbar superyacht.  Yesterday 27 September, the BBC reported, referring to the prosecutor’s office in the country.  The press service of Usmanov says that the yacht does not belong to him.

The statement of the prosecutor’s office does not mention the name of the ship or its owner but says that it is a 69-year-old Russian businessman and that the search was part of the investigation conducted last week when the police searched the villa named Usmanov.  The statement of the oligarch’s press service confirms that it is about the search for the yacht «Dilbar».

As a result of his ties with the Russian state, Usmanov is on the EU sanctions list, his assets in Europe are frozen, and he is forbidden to move within the Union.
Usmanov is described in EU sanctions documents as a «pro-Kremlin oligarch» and «one of Vladimir Putin’s favorite oligarchs».

According to the Prosecutor’s Office, the owner of the yacht is suspected of carrying out financial transactions worth millions of euros in the period from 2017 to 2022 to conceal the origin of funds derived from criminal offenses, in particular tax evasion.

In Germany, two separate investigations are being carried out against Usmanov, estimated at $14.6 billion.

According to the Federal Criminal Police Office, the yacht is worth half a billion euros.

In April, the German authorities confiscated the super yacht after it was officially confirmed that the ship was linked to Usmanov. At the same time, the German federal police discovered that the vessel belonged to Usmanov’s sister Gulbahar Ismailova.

Last night, Usmanov’s press service issued a statement in which it categorically denied the yacht’s connection with the oligarch. According to Usmanov, in 2017 the yacht was transferred to the balance of the Sisters Family trust, among the beneficiaries of which was Usmanova Gulbahor.  However, after the introduction of European sanctions, he was removed from the list of beneficiaries, and the fund is managed by an independent manager.

The statement also says that Usmanov used the yacht the «last few years» under the terms of the lease, for which he paid on market terms, which was confirmed by the relevant documents.

Thus, neither Usmanov nor his sister nor any of his relatives had anything to do with the property.

We have repeated over the past months that when Alisher Usmanov established these family funds and transferred some of his property to them, the goal was to ensure the well-being of his relatives and their families, the press service reported.

It is noted that the transfer of property to family funds was carried out by established international practice.

We reported earlier that the German police searched his villa and found rare items.  Among the finds are valuable Fabergé eggs.

Alisher Usmanov is under sanctions from the USA, the UK, and the EU.  He is the sixth richest man in Russia, the owner of Metalloinvest and Megaphone.  His net worth fell from $21.6 billion to $18.9 billion after sanctions were imposed.  Earlier, Germany confiscated Osmanov’s $750 million Dilbar superyacht.

In the spring, Usmanov appealed the EU’s decision to impose harsh sanctions on Russia in response to its invasion of Ukraine.  On 29 April, Usmanov requested the EU General Court to suspend the sanctions until the judges issued a final decision.

It is noted that EU sanctions trials can last several years and rarely result in victories for those targeted.  In particular, Ukraine’s fugitive former president Viktor Yanukovych and his son have remained on the EU sanctions list since 2014, even after winning court cases involving them in the 2020 sanctions.

As of 16 September, Germany had frozen Russian assets worth at least €4.88 billion.


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