German prosecutors will drop probe of Russian magnate Usmanov after he agrees to pay nearly $12M

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BERLIN (AP) — German prosecutors say they will drop an investigation of Russian oligarch Alisher Usmanov, a close ally of President Vladimir Putin, over possible breaches of sanctions after he agreed to pay 10 million euros (about $11.8 million) to the authorities.

The Uzbekistan-born billionaire and metals magnate, who was reelected as the president of the International Fencing Federation last year, has been facing European Union sanctions imposed after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

The Munich prosecutors office said on Tuesday that the probe of Usmanov, which prompted police raids of dozens of properties in Germany linked to him three years ago, would be dropped upon receiving the payment.

Some funds and assets linked to Usmanov had been frozen under the EU sanctions. A probe of money laundering allegations was dropped last year, his press office said in a statement.

Prosecutors said Usmanov was suspected of transferring about 1.5 million euros through foreign-based companies for management of two properties in the lakeside town of Rottach-Egern, south of Munich, in the months after the sanctions were imposed.

He was also alleged to have failed to declare valuables to authorities, including jewelry, paintings and wines.

Usmanov’s defense team had challenged the allegations about his ties to the companies and valuables and the applicability of EU law in the case.

The prosecutors said the discontinuation of the investigation upon the payment was authorized under German criminal law.

The 10 million euros will be distributed among the state treasury, a Bavarian victim support foundation and an association for prisoner welfare and probation services, the prosecutor's office said.

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This story has been corrected to show that the payment of 10 million euros was not a fine and that an investigation into possible money laundering was dropped last year.