Russian oligarch Kuzmichev accused of tax fraud in France

Alexei Kuzmichev, a Kremlin-aligned Russian billionaire who was detained earlier in France, was charged with tax fraud on Wednesday, 1 November. Source: France's National Financial Prosecutor's Office, writes European Pravda with reference to AFP   Details: Kuzmichev was charged with concealing cooperation with an organised criminal group and on suspicion of money laundering.

He was placed under judicial supervision and banned from travelling outside France.

The oligarch was released from custody on bail of EUR8 million. According to AFP, Kuzmichev was arrested on Monday 30 October in the resort of Saint-Tropez on the French Riviera. Law enforcement officers raided several places associated with the oligarch, including a house in Paris and a villa in Saint-Tropez.

Alexei Kuzmichev has been on the European sanctions lists since March 2022. He is a main shareholder of Alfa Group, which includes Alfa Bank, one of the largest Russian taxpayers. In addition, the EU claims Kuzmichev is close to Russian President Vladimir Putin, given how the latter supported the investment plans of Alfa Group out of loyalty to the Kremlin authorities.

Forbes magazine estimates the oligarch's fortune at almost US£6.5 billion. Last year, the French authorities confiscated two of Kuzmichev's yachts moored in the south of France. The arrest of one of the yachts was cancelled in October 2022 due to procedural errors.

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