Russian Oligarch Alexei Kuzmitchev Arrested in France on Money Laundering Charges

Immediately placed in police custody, Alexei Kuzmitchev is accused by the Anti-Corruption Office (Oclciff) of laundering tax fraud and violating international sanctions decided the day after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022. .

His Parisian home, a private mansion nestled in the heart of the 7th arrondissement of the capital between the Orsay Museum and the Palais Bourbon, as well as his Tropezian residence were searched by around sixty agents, including “around forty police officers from “the elite of the RAID and the BRI came to secure the immense Var property, which extends over more than two hectares”, report our colleagues from Monde who claim that “wads of cash” were discovered at the scene.

But if Alexei Kuzmitchev was in the Var even though he is persona non grata in the European Union, it is because he “was already in France at the time of his addition to the sanctions list”, explains The world. To stay in France, the Russian oligarch would have notably justified “family ties in the country”.

But above all, Alexei Kuzmitchev would have used a certain number of levers, allowing him to cancel the customs procedures initiated in the aftermath of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. This is how, following two appeals – a first in October and a second in December 2022 – the Russian billionaire managed to obtain the cancellation of customs procedures targeting his yachts “La Petite Ourse” and “La petite Ourse II”, moored at the ports of Antibes and Cannes, whose respective values ​​reach 4 and 1.2 million euros.

This, thanks to the presence of procedural defects. In the decisions consulted by The world, it is notably notified that agents of the customs coastguard service of the national directorate of customs intelligence and investigations (DNRED) have circumvented the law. The agents are said to have “boarded the ships” with a view to immobilizing them. Enough for the Council of State to overturn the decision. But a few months later, the Court of Cassation finally ruled in favor of the customs paralysis of boats. The freeze, which prohibits any sale or rental, is thus reinstated from July 2023.

The Russian oligarch’s litigious journey does not end there. According to a source close to the matter, Alexei Kuzmitchev also filed an appeal with the European Union to have his inclusion on the sanctions list canceled. The decision is expected on November 15. But the outcome seems compromised to say the least.

And for good reason, his status as a major shareholder within the Alfa Group conglomerate, which includes the first Russian private bank Alfa banks, makes him “one of the largest taxpayers in Russia”, according to the European Union. which depicts a man “with well-established ties” to Vladimir Putin. Maria, the Russian president’s eldest daughter, notably led a charitable project, Alfa-Endo, financed by the so-called Alfa Bank, as specified in an EU document detailing the list of people sanctioned.

Despite this proven proximity, will the Kremlin come to his aid even though he is now caught in the net of a money laundering affair? In any case, this is what the spokesperson for the Russian presidency suggested this Tuesday, October 31. “After receiving the information (of the detention of a citizen of the Russian Federation) and if the detainee wishes, we will of course help protect his rights as a Russian citizen,” he said. And to specify however “not knowing well” the particular case of Alexei Kuzmitchev.