Russian businessman arrested in London on suspicion of money laundering

We are talking about a 58-year-old Russian.The Embassy in London sent a note to the Foreign Office

In London, employees of the National Crime Agency (NCA) detained a Russian businessman, whose name was not released, and two of his accomplices on suspicion of committing a number of crimes, according to the NCA website.

“The National Crime Agency conducted a major operation to detain a Russian businessman on suspicion of offenses including money laundering, conspiracy to defraud the Ministry of the Interior and conspiracy to give false testimony,” the report said.

The 58-year-old businessman was detained on December 1 at his home in London by officers from the NCA's anti-kleptocracy department. In addition to him, a 35-year-old man was taken into custody on suspicion of money laundering and obstruction of the NCA after he was seen leaving with a bag in which several thousand pounds of cash were found. The third was the 39-year-old ex-boyfriend of the businessman's current partner, who was detained at his home in Pimlico on suspicion of money laundering and conspiracy to defraud. All three were questioned by NCA officers and released on bail.

Friedman announced his readiness to give the Ukrainian Alfa-Bank to Kyiv for free

“We do not know who this news is about, Mr. Friedman is at home, not under arrest. He has nothing to do with this story, ”a representative of Alfa-Bank told RBC in response to reports about the detention of a Russian businessman in London.

TASS, citing a source close to Mikhail Fridman, said that the businessman was detained in London. “Friedman was detained by the police. But, according to our information, he has been released on bail so far,” the agency’s interlocutor said, pointing out that he did not yet have any other information, including about the reasons for the detention of the businessman. A RBC source close to the businessman said that Fridman was released on bail of £150,000. 

The Russian Embassy in the UK sent a note to the Foreign Office in connection with the detention of the Russian, demanded that diplomats be allowed to see the detainee and provide him with a lawyer, RIA Novosti reports.

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RBC sent a request to the Russian Embassy in London, and also asked for a comment from the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova.

In mid-October, the NCA reported on the arrest of British businessman Graham Bonham Carter associated with Russian billionaire Oleg Deripaska (50th in the Russian FORBES rating with a fortune of $1.7 billion). Bonham Carter, according to the NCA, helped Deripaska evade sanctions. The United States is seeking his extradition . The Briton was later released on bail.

Deripaska came under UK sanctions , including an asset freeze and a travel ban, March 10. Bonham Carter, the NCA explained, managed properties in the United States and Great Britain that are associated with a Russian businessman, hiding the true owner. Earlier, two London properties linked to Deripaska were on the list of frozen assets. We are talking about a mansion in Belgrave Square and an office on Cleveland Row next to St. James's Palace with a total value of more than 50 million pounds ($61.5 million).

At the end of September, the US Department of Justice charged Deripaska with circumventing restrictions. The businessman has been under US sanctions since 2018.