The war in Ukraine has made life very difficult for Russian magnates with properties in the West. This is the case of Alexei Kuzmichev, a powerful banker considered close to Vladimir Putin, who was arrested on Monday in the town of Saint-Tropez, on the French Riviera. The oligarch is being interrogated in Paris for alleged crimes of money laundering, tax fraud and violation of sanctions imposed on Russia.
French authorities targeted Kuzmichev shortly after the invasion of Ukraine. Two yachts he owned, named La petite ourse (The Little Bear) and La petite ourse II, were placed under judicial seizure in March 2022 in application of European Union sanctions. These boats, 24 and 16.5 meters in length, are valued, respectively, at four and 1.2 million euros. They are moored in the ports of Antibes and Cannes. The 61-year-old oligarch filed an appeal to not be included in the sanctions. The decision is due to be announced on November 15. Kuzmichev alleges that he was already in France at the time of the Russian invasion and that he has family ties in the country.
The wealthy businessman is one of the main shareholders of the Alfa Group conglomerate, which includes Alfa Bank. He is estimated to be one of the most influential figures in Russia, with connections to the Kremlin. Putin's eldest daughter Maria developed a charitable project financed by Alfa Bank.
According to the newspaper Le Monde, which was the first media outlet to uncover the news, it is one of the hardest blows dealt in France to the Russian oligarchs. In the course of the investigations by the National Financial Prosecutor's Office, the Saint-Tropez estate, of more than two hectares, and a building also owned by the billionaire in the central 7th arrondissement of Paris, between the National Assembly and the Quai d', were searched. Orsay, the headquarters of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Saint-Tropez operation, given the size of the compound, forced the mobilization of around sixty agents and judicial officials, including forty members of elite police units such as the RAID. Quantities of cash were found during the search.
The Kremlin was forced to react, clear proof of the detainee's relevance. The spokesman for the Russian presidency, Dimitri Peskov, recalled that they must be informed through diplomatic channels of the arrest of a Russian citizen and that, when they receive the official communication, if the interested party so wishes, "we will obviously help them protect their rights."
