Pro-Kremlin billionaire Alisher Usmanov avoids charges as German money laundering case ends with $4.36m fine

German prosecutors in Frankfurt closed a money laundering investigation into Russian-Uzbek billionaire Alisher Usmanov, but required him to pay a financial penalty of €4 million ($4.36 million), Reuters reported earlier today.

Usmanov, 71, will divide the payment between charities (€1.5 million) and the state (€2.5 million) in a resolution that implies no admission of guilt, according to the Frankfurt Prosecutor’s Office.

“The accused's alleged offenses did not result in any financial damage to the Federal Republic of Germany, the state of Hesse, or any natural or legal person in Germany,” said a spokesman for the prosecutors, adding that the offenses dated back some time.

Once the payment is complete, the proceedings will be closed, the spokesman said.

Usmanov’s attorneys also commented on the development. “We have always insisted on the innocence of our client,” said Uwe Lehmbruck and Markus Gotzens, Usmanov’s lawyers from the firm Wannemacher & Partner, calling the decision an important step toward protecting Usmanov’s reputation.

As noted by the Russian news website RBC, the lawyers added that the decision was made under section 153a of the German Code of Criminal Procedure. They specified that Usmanov provided “written consent in line with his stated conditions and wishes” and opted to make a voluntary donation to charitable causes.

The statement said that Usmanov had fulfilled all his commitments and that he was choosing not to pursue legal action against the prosecutors, whom he accused of abusing their authority. Usmanov also opted not to seek damages in the German General Prosecutor’s Office in the state of Hesse for what his side of the matter characterized as “the immense harm caused by the improper investigation.”

The money laundering investigation into Usmanov, whose net worth is listed at $14.4 billion by the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, was launched following sanctions imposed on the oligarch in 2022, but it concluded with no findings after two and a half years. Courts consistently ruled in favor of Usmanov, declaring the searches against him illegal and the investigation unwarranted. However, Usmanov was unable to challenge searches in Germany related to a separate case related to the violation of sanctions.

The billionaire, who amassed his wealth in mining, industry, telecoms, and media, was sanctioned by both the EU and the U.S. shortly after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

In its sanctions announcement, the EU described Usmanov as having “particularly close ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin” and referred to him as “one of Vladimir Putin’s favorite oligarchs.” Usmanov has denied any association with Putin.

The case in question was not Usmanov’s first experience with the German legal system. In early October, the Hamburg Regional Court imposed an injunction that worked in Usmanov’s favor, as it prohibited the dissemination of information alleging that the Russian oligarch, as president of the International Fencing Federation (FIE), had been involved in a “system of bribing referees.” The Hamburg court described the claims as “inadmissible suspicion-based reporting.” Usmanov previously served as FIE’s president from 2008 to 2022, when he stepped down from the position.

German broadcaster Westdeutscher Rundfunk (WDR), which aired a report on the TV channel ARD containing accusations against Usmanov, acknowledged that the information was incorrect, RBC reported, citing Usmanov’s press service.

In March, the same court barred Forbes from publishing claims that the oligarch acted as a “frontman” for Vladimir Putin, managing his business affairs. Around the same time, it was reported that Usmanov’s lawyers successfully compelled the German Federal Criminal Police Office and Swedish economist Anders Åslund to delete tweets mentioning Usmanov and his sister, Gulbakhor Ismailova.