According to a media report, investigators from the Federal Criminal Police Office carried out searches in the stadium and in the office of the German Bundesliga club FC Bayern. An investigation against the German record champions is not underway.
According to “Bild”, officials from the Federal Criminal Police Office searched the premises in the Allianz Arena and the FC Bayern office last Tuesday in cooperation with the Bavarian State Criminal Police Office – looking for evidence. The background to the action is a money laundering procedure against the Russian oligarch Alisher Usmanov.
The billionaire is accused of embezzling money. According to “Bild”, why the investigators are looking for clues at FC Bayern of all places is that Alisher Usmanov is acquainted with supervisory board member Uli Hoeneß. Hoeneß is said to have once even procured and deposited VIP tickets for top games in the Champions League for Usmanov.
As the public prosecutor’s office in Frankfurt am Main made clear to “Bild”, FC Bayern is only a witness in the investigation and explicitly not a suspect: “Our authority is not conducting any investigations or fines against FC Bayern Munich or those responsible or members of the club.”
Usmanov is no stranger to the world of sports
Alisher Usmanov owns properties on Lake Tegernsee that were searched last fall. Numerous possessions, such as a London villa or the luxury yacht Dilbar, have been confiscated since the outbreak of the Russian war of aggression against the Ukrainians.
Usmanov became a multi-billionaire in the iron and steel industry and founded the holding company USM, which also bundles companies in the IT and telecommunications sectors. The 68-year-old is considered a close confidant of Vladimir Putin. In response to Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, which violates international law, the European Union has also frozen the assets of Russian oligarchs and people close to Putin and restricted their freedom to travel.
Usmanov is no stranger to the world of sport: the oligarch was President of the World Fencing Federation FIE until recently, but he resigned from that post last year. From 2007 to 2018 he was a shareholder at the English football club Arsenal, and he was also a sponsor of Everton FC.
