Raid over possible link to Russian oligarch.
(Photo: AP)
Frankfurt, Zurich Investigators searched branches of the major Swiss bank UBS in Germany on Tuesday. They are investigating the suspicion that the Russian oligarch Alisher Usmanov laundered funds from UBS accounts in Germany.
A spokesman for UBS Europe said when asked by Handelsblatt: “We confirm that public prosecutors are currently searching the premises of the UBS Europe SE branches in Frankfurt and Munich. We are cooperating fully with the authorities and ask for your understanding that we are currently unable to comment further on the matter.”
The “Spiegel” had previously reported on the search. The Frankfurt Public Prosecutor’s Office said on request: “In connection with the existing suspicion of money laundering against the accused, we hope to gain insights from his business relationship with the institute.” Employees of the institute are not being investigated. According to insiders, UBS was something like Usmanov’s house bank in Germany.
For the general public prosecutor’s office, it is the first bank that they are investigating in connection with the dealings of Putin’s confidante Usmanov in Germany. Since 10 a.m., the authorities have been searching private banking premises in Munich and the European headquarters of UBS in Frankfurt with a double-digit number of investigators.
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UBS announced in April that it manages around 22 billion dollars for Russian clients. At the beginning of the war, the group’s own risk to Russia was around 600 million dollars and has been gradually reduced since then.
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