Sanctioned Russian oligarch Alisher Usmanov settles German criminal probe out of court

After nearly two and a half years, billionaire Alisher Usmanov has settled a money-laundering investigation in Germany, agreeing to pay 4 million euros ($4.4 million) — €2.5 million to the government and €1.5 million to charities — Bloomberg reported on Monday.

Usmanov, whose business interests include the Metalloinvest mining and metallurgy company and the Kommersant publishing house, has been under Western sanctions since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. 

In June 2024, The Financial Times reported that he sued the Swiss bank UBS for triggering the German investigation by submitting “unsubstantiated reports” about his transactions. In May 2023, in a Frankfurt court, Usmanov successfully challenged a series of searches of his property in Germany in 2022.