In addition to money laundering, the 58-year-old oligarch was charged with two other counts – conspiracy to defraud the Home Office and conspiracy to commit perjury. Two other people were arrested with him. One of them is a 35-year-old man who is believed to work for the oligarch’s home and was arrested when he left with a suitcase full of cash. He was arrested for money laundering and obstructing law enforcement. Another 39-year-old man was arrested, who was a former partner of the current oligarch’s partner. He was arrested at his home in Pimlico, central London, on charges of money laundering and conspiracy to extort money.
The three men have since been released on bail.
See also: Abramovich, Friedman, Usmanov. 50 Russian oligarchs sued the CJEU. They don’t want penalties
A person close to the investigation provided CNN with more details about the two arrested men, saying so The 39-year-old was a citizen of Russia, Israel and Great Britain, and the 35-year-old was a Polish citizen. A source told CNN that the banknotes in the 35-year-old’s possession have not yet been counted, but are believed to be in the tens of thousands and in British currency.
The NCA has not named any of those arrested, but according to independent Russian media, including Agienstvo-Novosti and Nastoyashcheye Vremya TV, it may be Mikhail Fridman, a Russian businessman, founder and shareholder of Alfa Group. – agrees, among other things his age. The Ukrainian portal Ukrainska Pravda also mentioned Friedman’s name, citing three “unknown sources in business circles”. In the same text, the portal notes that other interlocutors claim that Friedman is at his home in London.
NCA said about 50 of its anti-kleptocratic officers were involved in a raid on the businessman’s property, during which a number of digital devices and a large amount of cash were confiscated after a search. NCA Director General Graeme Biggar stressed that while this unit was only created this year, it has already achieved significant success investigating potential criminal activity of oligarchs, the professional service providers who enable this criminal activity, and prosecuting those with ties to the Russian regime. .
mention it Friedmanwho founded the largest private bank in Russia, It was placed on the EU and UK sanctions list after it invaded Ukraine. While the billionaire claims to be a private businessman and has no ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin, the EU claims to be an “assistant to Putin’s inner circle”.
In an interview with Bloomberg this spring, Friedman said so To spend money in the UK, they must complete an application which is then verified by the UK government. That’s how I get an allowance of less than 3,000. $300 a month, he told the agency. He also complained that he had to clean the apartment himself.
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