German police raid properties of Russian businessman under EU sanctions

BERLIN (Reuters) - German police and customs officers on Thursday searched several properties in southern Germany, which a source familiar with the matter said belonged to a Russian national targeted by European Union sanctions because of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

The source told Reuters that Russian oligarch Alisher Usmanov, a Russian-Uzbek businessman, was the target of the search operation.

"There can be no reason for suspicion against Mr Usmanov, who has always duly declared the personal property that was lawfully acquired by him, in addition to disclosing the funds with which he acquired these assets," said a spokesperson for Usmanov in response to a Reuters' request for comment.

The spokesperson said Usmanov was not the owner of the trust he founded and had no right to control or manage its assets.

"As such, he has no way of knowing what is currently happening to the property owned by the trust."

A special commission dubbed "Matryoshka", established by the German customs authority's sanctions office, said in a statement that officers searched properties in greater Munich and Tegernsee in Bavaria.

In September 2022, German police searched Usmanov's villa in the holiday town of Rottach-Egern on the shores of the Tegernsee. A court later deemed the raids unlawful.

The German customs authority's special commission said it was acting on court search warrants. It said it could not give further details on the operation for tactical reasons.

(Reporting by Miranda Murray, Joern Poltz, Rachel More and Alexander Marrow; Writing by Maria Martinez; Editing by Alexandra Hudson and Grant McCool)