Germany to drop Russian oligarch investigation following €10M settlement – JURIST

The Munich II Public Prosecutor’s Office on Tuesday dropped a money laundering and sanction breach investigation into the Russian oligarch Alisher Usmanov, after agreeing upon a €10 million settlement. The settlement will be split between the state treasury (€8.5 million) and German charities (€1.5 million.)

Mr. Usmanov was suspected of not declaring his assets within the required time frame for sanctioned persons pursuant to Article 18 of the Foreign Trade and Payments Act, and circumventing sanctions by transferring assets to foreign companies and having them pay €1.5 million in security services for two of his properties. His legal team rejected both allegations, stating that he has no affiliation with the companies and does not own the properties in question. They described his prosecution as unconstitutional, arguing that the “obligation to self-report” at the risk of criminal penalties violates the right against self incrimination, which holds that “no one is required to assist in their own criminal prosecution.” They emphasized that “Mr. Usmanov remains presumed innocent and the payment is not considered a fine or punishment.”

Known to have close ties with Vladimir Putin, the Uzbekistan-born billionaire was declared a sanctioned person in the European Union in February 2022, following the start of the Russia-Ukraine war. The US followed suit in March 2022. As a sanctioned person, he is bound by restrictions for travel and business dealings, his assets are frozen, and any violations can incur criminal penalties. German authorities raided properties they said were linked to Usmanov as part of an investigation into suspected breaches in 2022. These searches were later ruled to be unlawful by the Frankfurt Regional Court. Usmanov was further targeted in April 2023, when his affiliates were added to a second batch of sanctions. In November 2024, the Frankfurt Public Prosecutor’s Office closed another money laundering case against Usmanov after receiving a 4 million euro payout.

According to section 153a of Germany’s Code of Criminal Procedure, the public prosecution office, with the consent of the accused person, can end criminal investigations while also imposing certain conditions such as the “payment of a sum of money to a non-profit-making institution or to the Treasury.” Once received, prosecutors are not be able to reopen an investigation based on the same incidents.