Vladimir Putin pal hid £600m, according to leaked documents

Oligarch who is one of Vladimir Putin’s inner circle’ used fake names and web of companies to hide £600million, leaked documents reveal

• Assets linked to Suleiman Kerimov were disguised behind a web of companies
• Leaked documents suggest he hid his role in £600million of bank transactions
• Banks reported suspicions in 2010 but lenders did not trace deals back to him 

A sanctioned oligarch hid his role in £600million of bank transactions and swathes of property deals, leaked documents seem to reveal.

Assets linked to Suleiman Kerimov – one of Vladimir Putin’s ‘inner circle’ – were disguised behind a web of companies and false owners, according to papers obtained by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists.

In one case, the owner of a company which transferred more than £230million to Kerimov-linked firms was falsely given as a Swiss tattoo artist. 

Assets linked to Suleiman Kerimov – one of Vladimir Putin’s ‘inner circle’ – were disguised behind a web of companies and false owners, leaked documents seem to reveal

In another, Swiss accountant Alexander Studhalter allegedly posed as the owner of properties that belonged to the 56-year-old oligarch. Mr Studhalter denies this and says his signature was forged.

Kerimov was the secret owner of several French villas and a London mansion that sold in 2013 for a reported £80million, according to BBC analysis of the documents.

Banks reported their as suspicions as long ago as 2010 but lenders did not trace the deals back to him. Kerimov has been sanctioned by the US since 2018 and by the UK since March 15.

Authorities in the EU, who also slapped penalties on Mr Kerimov last month, claimed he was ‘a member of the inner circle of oligarchs’ surrounding Mr Putin.

Experts said the complexity of the web of companies used by Mr Kerimov shows the battle which lies ahead for authorities as they try to track down the wealth of sanctioned Russian businessmen.

Tom Keatinge, director of the Centre for Financial Crime and Security Studies at defence think-tank RUSI, told the BBC: ‘That just shows you how big a challenge we are going to have in genuinely enforcing the sanctions against oligarchs – beyond just seizing their yachts and houses in Belgravia.’

Mr Studhalter has claimed that he never acted as a so-called straw man for his ‘friend’ Mr Kerimov, and that his signature had been forged on bank documents which appeared to show otherwise. 

Source: Read Full Article