Russian oligarch Oleksii Kuzmitsev has been detained in France in connection with alleged tax evasion and money laundering, as well as for violating international sanctions, the Paris economic prosecutor’s office announced on Tuesday, cited by Reuters.
French prosecutors also said searches took place on Monday at the Russian billionaire’s Paris home as well as a property he owns in the Var region on the Mediterranean coast, confirming information initially reported by the daily newspaper Le Monde.
Kuzmicheva is still being held for questioning but has not yet been charged in the case, Paris prosecutors said.
The Russian billionaire is one of the founders and main shareholders of Alfa-Bank, Russia’s largest private bank. Last March, the European Union came under sanctions for his ties to President Vladimir Putin.
The Russian oligarch is under sanctions from the West and other countries
Oleksiy Kuzmitsev is the main shareholder of Alfa Group, which includes Alfa Bank, one of the largest taxpayers in Russia. He is considered one of the most influential people in Russia. He has well-established ties with the Russian president. The eldest daughter of Vladimir Putin, Maria, headed the charity project “Alfa-Endo”, which was financed by “Alfa-Bank”. “Vladimir Putin rewarded the loyalty of “Alfa-groups” to the Russian authorities by providing political assistance to the foreign investment plans of “Alfa-groups”, – the EU publication notes about this.
“Therefore, he actively materially or financially supported and benefited from persons responsible for the annexation of Crimea or the destabilization of Ukraine. He is also a leading Russian businessman involved in economic sectors that provide a significant source of income for the government of the Russian Federation, responsible for the annexation of Crimea and the destabilization of Ukraine,” the source cited in relation to Kuzmitsev said.
The UK government also put it on the sanctions list last year, and the US in August this year. It is also under sanctions by Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
The Bloomberg agency estimates the fortune of 61-year-old Kuzmichev at $5.7 billion.
Kuzmitsev obtained in the French courts the right to use his sanctioned yachts
Although less well-known than other Russian oligarchs, Kuzmichev attracted international media attention last September when he sued French authorities to regain access to two of his yachts, arguing that customs officials had no right to confiscate them despite that they are on the EU sanctions list.
His lawyers challenged in court in two separate lawsuits the arrest of the ships “La Petite Ourse” and “La Petite Ourse II”, detained in the cities of Antibes and Cannes on the Cote d’Azur.
“If you own an asset for personal use, such as a yacht, you have the right to use it, even if it is unavailable,” Philippe Blanchetier, one of the oligarch’s lawyers, said at the time.
French judges ruled in favor of Kuzmitsev in both trials, the Financial Times reports.
“Within [Franței]he is allowed to move around, whether on foot, on horseback, in a car, or in a boat,” Blanchetier said after the first ruling.
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Source: Hot News
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