Alisher Usmanov: Raid on oligarch yacht

In Bremen, investigators are looking for information from NDR, WDR and “SZ” the luxury yacht “Dilbar”, attributed to the oligarch Usmanov. Again, it is about the suspicion of tax evasion and money laundering.

Six days after the house searches at Tegernsee, tax investigators, customs investigators, the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) and the Federal Police were deployed again in the morning. This time their destination was in northern Germany, specifically the 156 meter long super yacht “Dilbar”. The ship has been in Lemwerder near Bremen in Lower Saxony since last week.

The yacht, which is said to have cost several hundred million euros, is attributed by German authorities to the entrepreneur Alisher Usmanow, who is under EU sanctions and is said to be in close contact with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Usmanow himself denies that. Just last week, investigators in Tegernsee, Bavaria, searched three of the billionaire’s properties and other properties nationwide. A spokesman for Usmanow explained that the businessman did not own any houses in Germany, that he did not live there and that he was therefore not subject to income tax, contrary to what German authorities believe.

Residing in Germany since 2014?

The Munich II public prosecutor assumes that the oligarch has been resident in Germany since 2014, has regularly stayed in Bavaria for a long time in the past and was therefore subject to tax in Germany. The investigators, including experts from the Special Investigation Group on Organized Crime and Tax Evasion (EOKS) from Düsseldorf, suspect the native Uzbek of tax evasion of more than 500 million euros. The Frankfurt Public Prosecutor’s Office is also investigating Usmanov on suspicion of money laundering. If the investigators’ assumptions turn out to be correct, the Usmanov case could develop into one of the largest tax proceedings in post-war German history.

The luxury yacht “Dilbar” was arrested by German authorities in April as part of the investigation into the new sanctions against Russia. At that time, the ship was in the dry dock of the Blohm + Voss shipyard in Hamburg for a general overhaul. Previously, the BKA had come across a complex network of companies, holdings and funds by examining accounting documents and had been able to determine that the ship probably belonged to Usmanow’s sister, at least on paper. It is now also under EU sanctions.

Task force to implement sanctions against Russia

Shortly after the start of the war against Ukraine, a task force was set up in Germany to implement the sanctions against Russia. The unit, led by the Federal Ministry of Economics, also includes the Foreign Office, the Ministry of Finance, the BKA, Customs and the Federal Intelligence Service (BND). The investigators in this country have now been able to locate and “freeze” around five billion euros, including financial assets in bank accounts, apartments, yachts, airplanes and share assets from various owners.

In the course of the raids last week, a spokesman for Usmanov described the investigations as “absurd”. Usmanov has paid his taxes in Russia in recent years. A short-term request for today’s search of the “Dilbar” initially went unanswered.