Uzbek-born Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov, though currently without his superyacht, has found a glimmer of success following a series of challenges and is now seeking a comeback, luxurylaunches reports.
In May, the Frankfurt Regional Court ruled that the searches conducted on his megayacht and properties were unlawful. The court determined that the allegations of money laundering lacked substance, and the initial suspicions were baseless.
Usmanov, under sanctions, was also facing probes for tax evasion and sanctions violations. However, the grounds for the money laundering suspicions were inadequately explained. The court strongly criticized the investigators for relying on a YouTube video by Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny.
Responding to this, the Uzbek-born magnate lodged a constitutional complaint in Germany, asserting that his fundamental right to the inviolability of his home had been violated. This led to legal action against the Munich judiciary in the Federal Constitutional Court.
Usmanov also argued that the searches infringed upon his human dignity and contravened the fundamental principle of the home's sanctity. He emphasized that a luxurious superyacht like the Dilbar was also a protected residence, and the treatment it received during the raids was a clear violation of this principle.
A comprehensive 67-page constitutional complaint was presented, defending Usmanov against the search warrant executed on his luxury yacht Dilbar in the Bremen port and his villas in Bavaria's Lake Tegernsee, which were targeted as part of the suspected tax evasion investigation. His complaint vehemently refuted allegations of supporting the Russian regime and challenged the legitimacy of the Foreign Trade Law he was accused of breaching.
During the investigations, officers from the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) and tax investigators combed through several villas on Lake Tegernsee. Notably, they uncovered four counterfeit Faberge eggs valued at tens of thousands of dollars on September 23, 2022. Additionally, they searched an apartment near Frankfurt and the Dilbar in the Bremen port, where they seized rare artwork worth $5mn on November 8, 2022.
Usmanov has now achieved a small triumph and is seizing the opportunity to shift the focus onto the investigators. This minor victory may pave the way for the eventual return of his prized megayacht Dilbar.
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