One villa seized and multiple investigations opened

It is the first battle won in the long and delicate economic and judicial war waged by the West against the Russian regime: The French justice system has obtained the first criminal seizure of the villa of a Russian oligarch placed under sanctions. Located in Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat (southeastern France), this luxurious mansion estimated to be worth €23 million was seized in October 2022 at the request of the magistrates of the National Jurisdiction in Charge of the Fight Against Organized Crime (JUNALCO) of the Paris prosecutor's office, according to Le Monde's findings. It is suspected of belonging to Viktor Rashnikov, the boss of one of the largest steel producers in Russia.

Three properties officially linked to Rashnikov had already been administratively frozen on the French Riviera and in Paris since he was placed under sanctions on March 15, 2022. However, his villa in Saint-Jean-Cap Ferrat had passed under the radar, since it was "not declared to the tax authorities as being his property," according to a source familiar with the case. It belonged to a Swiss company, itself owned by a Panamanian structure. France's financial intelligence unit TRACFIN was notified of the sale of the villa, which occurred shortly after the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The service attached to the French ministry of finance realized that, behind the complex financial arrangements, the villa belonged to a Russian citizen suspected of being Rashnikov's frontman and that the new owner was also Russian

Source: Le Monde