The Frankfurt am Main court declared it illegal for the Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office to keep the documents and property seized in Germany within the scope of the investigation against Alisher Usmanov and ordered them to be returned to their owners. socialbites.ca was informed about this by the businessman’s press service.
In the autumn of 2022, employees of the prosecutor’s office and the Federal Criminal Police Office carried out a series of searches in the Bavarian city of Rottach-Eggern on the Dilbar yacht in Hamburg and at the house of the family of his friend A. Usmanov. Near Frankfurt am Main. Police teams also participated in the search efforts. In May 2023, the district court of Frankfurt am Main ruled that four search warrants used by prosecutors and police in the money laundering investigation were unlawful. The court initially concluded that there was no suspicion, describing the German prosecutor’s office’s allegations as “vague suspicions” and “unfounded assumptions”. The court also emphasized that Usmanov still needed legal protection, as the Frankfurt am Main Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office continued to hold the property despite recognizing the search warrants as illegal.
“The activities of the German investigative authorities regarding Alisher Usmanov can be characterized as a series of illegal actions that violate the concepts of justice and legality. These documents, which are presented to the public as an impressive indicator of political determination, do not in any way comply with the principle of proportionality, which is the law enforcement standard in a state governed by the rule of law. <…> “The decision of the Frankfurt Regional Court once again reminds German law enforcement agencies of the need to comply with the laws of our country and the inadmissibility of arbitrariness, including in relation to foreign citizens,” said Usmanov’s lawyers, Dr. Peter Gauweiler and Thomas Fischer.
According to Hamburg lawyer Joachim Nikolaus Steinhäfel, who represents Usmanov’s interests in the field of media law, “from the very beginning, the investigations against him were accompanied by direct stuffing in the media and were carried out with numerous violations of the law.”
“And so it is important that these are continually and successfully challenged in the courts as illegal. In May, the Frankfurt am Main court put an end to the issue of the groundlessness and unlawfulness of high-profile searches with elements of a theatrical performance carried out by police and prosecutors in several cities in Germany last autumn. He then declared illegal the search of the law firm in Munich, which provided protection to A. Usmanov, as nothing more than an attempt to intimidate his legal representatives. This raises the question: How many more court decisions are needed before German law enforcement authorities begin to comply with the laws of this country and fulfill their responsibilities?” said.
Usmanov’s previous defense filed A lawsuit was filed in the German Constitutional Court due to the search carried out on the Dilbar yacht in Germany. Usmanov himself called this a violation of his right to the inviolability of his home (Usmanov had used it as a tenant, although he was not the owner of Dilbar), and the sanctions against him were unfounded.