France: Karimov’s case is closed

The prosecutor’s office in France closed the case of the Russian oligarch, a member of the Council of Council of Suleiman Kerimov, who was accused of tax evasion and the legalization of funds illegally imported into the country. This was reported by Interfax with reference to Nikita Sychev, the lawyer of the oligarch.

In turn, an unnamed "informed source" told the agency that in the near future Kerimov would be returned to a passport and a bail.

Kerimov was detained at Nice Airport on November 20, 2017 immediately upon arrival in France. On November 23, the court released him on the bail of 5 million euros with a ban on leaving the Primorsky Alps Department. A Russian passport was seized from the senator and obliged him to be celebrated several times a week in the police. In the future, the amount of the deposit was increased to 40 million euros , and the accused who lived in the vicinity of Nice was obliged to move to the city itself.

According to the case, Kerimov dodged 400 million euros of taxes by underestimating the cost of real estate transactions. It was also stated that he legalized from 500 to 750 million euros , illegally imported into France, including cash. This money was laundered, the investigation indicated, precisely through the purchase of real estate.

At the same time, this year, with the permission of the prosecutor’s office, Kerimov went to Russia several times.

In the case, the Swiss financier Alexander Studhalter, the nominal owner of Will Kerimov on the Cote d'Azur, was also involved in the case - Cedric Forer - the manager of the villas - and a certain French realtor who worked with the oligarch. For some time, Studhalter spent some time in prison, but in early March it became known about his release from 5 million euros.