Russian oligarch Oleksiy Kuzmichev, a close associate of Vladimir Putin, was charged in Paris on Wednesday with aggravated tax fraud and alleged money laundering and was placed under judicial control, the National Financial Prosecutor’s Office (PNF) announced, AFP reports.

The FNF petitioned for the election of the Russian oligarch to the SIZO, but he was “eventually placed under judicial control with the obligation” to “pay bail in the amount of 8 million euros” and with a ban on “leaving the country.” reported in the Financial Prosecutor’s Office.

He was also accused of “undercover work in an organized group.”

His lawyer declined to comment.

Oleksiy Kuzmitsev, 61, is described as a “majority shareholder of the conglomerate Alfa Group, which includes Alfa Bank, one of Russia’s largest taxpayers,” according to the European Union, which blacklisted him on March 15, 2022.

The oligarch “is considered one of the most influential people in Russia, who has well-established ties with the President of the Russian Federation: the eldest daughter of Vladimir Putin, Maria, managed the Alfa-Endo charity project, which was financed by Alfa Bank”, EU This is stated in the document, in which describes the list of persons subject to sanctions.

He was arrested on Monday in Saint-Tropez (Var) and placed in a detention facility.

The searches were carried out on the same day “in several places, in particular in Vara and at the residence of Mr. Kuzmitsev in Paris,” a court source said.

His house in Saint-Tropez was searched all day. “Cash and jewelry were seized,” she added.

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.