Swiss businessman Alexander Walter Studhalter is suspected of serving as a front for Russian tycoon Suleiman Kerimov. His spokesman claims that because the person is being held by the police in Nice, the investigation is centered on cash laundering on the French Riviera.

According to the report based on the EU-OCS website, 

The businessman’s attorney has sent the case to the Judicial Chamber of the Court of Appeal in Aix-en-Provence, according to a statement released by the businessman’s office. He is now waiting for the court to “recognize,” as it did for those involved in the current proceeding last December, that this kind of imprisonment cannot be legally justified.

The fact that Studhalter remained in pre-trial custody more than two years after the first charge was withdrawn stunned his defence team, they said.

According to the statement, Alexander Walter Studhalter has continuously complied with the examining magistrate’s order of arrest and will continue to vehemently contest all of the accusations made against him and the exemption granted for them.

Despite claims that he is the only rightful owner of property in Cap d’Antibes, Alexander Walter Studhalter was recently charged with tax evasion and laundering proceeds of crime.

Legal professionals in France believe that Russian oligarch Suleiman Kerimov, a close friend of Studhalter, is the rightful owner of the multimillion dollar mansions. Kerimov allegedly used fictitious corporations under Alexander Walter Studhalter’s name to purchase the residences, evading payment to the French government totaling thousands of euros.

One of the contested acquisitions is the villa Hier, which was reported to be worth $35 million. However, the contents of the document, signed by Studhalter and taken away by the police, show that the property is actually worth 127 million euros. Authorities estimate that approximately 500 to 750 million € in illicit Russian currency are believed to have been laundered by comparable property-related avoidance of taxes activities in France.

On November 23, Suleiman Kerimov was accused of sophisticated money laundering and tax evasion. He avoided being imprisoned in December on bonds totaling forty million euros, along with a court order requiring him to reside in Nice. The fifteenth of January is the deadline for reimbursement for the aforementioned surety.

Following an investigation into the purchase of opulent homes on the Costa d’Azur with the intention of evading taxes, thirteen people—including a number of local real estate brokers—were prosecuted and taken into custody.

Department of Treasury Sanctions on Kremlin-Linked Computer Networks, Global Russian Military Logistics, and Western Billionaire Elites

The US Department of State and the US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) together sanctioned a global system to purchase technologies for the Russian military-industrial complex.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control is also known as a global network of financial activists, backers, and associates related to two prominent Kremlin-connected oligarchs whose wealth is intertwined with Western wealth. Eight aircraft, fourteen persons, and twenty-eight organizations were designated as having restricted property under modern standards.

• Targeting the military marketing network in Russia

Top officials from thirty-three countries met in October 2022 with Assistant Secretary of Finance Wally Adeyemo and Deputy Director of the National Intelligence Agency Morgan’s Muir to discuss the effects of international sanctions and export restrictions on Russia’s military-industrial complex and vital defence supply networks.

On that precise date, a notice detailing the consequences of international fines and export regulations was released by the Departments of State, Commerce and Industry, and Treasury.

Milandr’s affiliate in Armenia, Milur Electronics Ltd., was founded to enter into agreements with foreign businesses, produce interconnected microchips, or carry out overseas marketing. To conduct business with foreign companies, Milandr used Milur Electronics as a sham.

Employees and associates of Milandr used Milur SA, the company’s major ownership, which is based in Switzerland, to handle payments to Milur Electronics Ltd.

Jacques Pasche and Holger Leng, two Swiss nationals who work for Milur SA, were involved in the effort to found Milur Electronics Ltd.

• The Suleiman Kerimov network

On September 30, 2022, Suleiman Abusaidovich Kerimov was designated by OFAC under Executive Order 14024 for his role as an envoy, authorised senior executive agent, or member of the executive committee of executives within the Russian Federation’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (GoR).

The report stated that Heritage Corporation possessed properties valued over $1 billion. The Motor Yacht Amadea, Kerimov’s upscale ferry, was placed in a state of lockdown in May 2022 when Fijian officials executed an arrest order.

• Family 

The OFAC recognized the family of Kerimov as his partner under E.O. 14024. This family consisted of his partner Firuza Nazimovna Kerimova, girls Gulnara Suleymanovna Kerimova & Amina Suleymanovna Kerimova, and son Said Suleymanovich Kerimov.

Constellation Planners Llc, a holding company situated in the United Arab Emirates, was also sanctioned by OFAC for either being under Gadzhiev’s control or acting as his agent, either directly or through a middleman.

The Alexander Walter Studhalter Network

Swiss citizen Alexander-Walter Studhalter has played a significant role in managing Kerimov’s businesses within his economic framework. Additionally, Studhalter is charged with money laundering for Kerimov’s gain. Eight companies connected to Studhalter were found by OFAC in six separate countries. Here are a few instances:

1. MG International AG- Kerimov was an investor in MG International AG International- Studhalter, a Swiss & Russian-based advisory firm wherein Gulnara had worked. 

2. Swiss International Advisory Group AG–  A  Swiss accountancy & taxation consulting organisation. 

3. Studhalter Worldwide Group AG- A Swiss financial company

4. Papa Oscar Ventures GmbH- It is a holding corporation established in Germany.

5. Eurimo Holding SA- It is an investment firm established in Luxembourg.

6. Papa Oscar Ventures SE SL- It is a trading organisation located in Spain. 

7. Swiss International Real Estate Portfolio AG- It is an actual properties corporation situated in Switzerland

8. SCI AAA Properties- It is a commercial property corporation established in France. 

Consequences of Embargoes

According to the report based on the U.S. Department of the Treasury,

All of the aforementioned individuals’ properties and holdings in property situated in the United States must be declared to OFAC as a result of the action. Additionally, any entity that is controlled by a minimum of fifty percent of the prohibited individuals, either directly or indirectly.

These prohibitions covered any promise or supply of money, goods, or expertise received from the aforementioned person, as well as any investment or providing of cash, products, or amenities by, to, or for the benefit of any prohibited person.

The Offices of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC): What Are They?

The sole purpose of the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the US Department of the Treasury is to oversee and enforce trade and economic embargoes against targeted foreign governments and nations, terrorist organisations, traffickers in human trafficking across borders, people involved in the production and distribution of weapons of mass destruction, and other threats to US national security, international relations, or the financial system.

Advice: Alerts and recommendations are frequently posted on the official OFAC website.

Penalties Programs & Regional Information: OFAC oversees a number of sanctions-related projects. Penalties can be broad or narrow, using trade restrictions and property freezing to accomplish both security-related and foreign relations goals.

The French authorities have restarted their investigation into Alexander Walter Studhalter, a Russian millionaire.

The Russian billionaire Suleyman Kerimov is the subject of a renewed investigation by French authorities, according to the attorney general, who has also charged him with tax evasion over the dubious sale of many pricey houses in southern France.

After a thorough examination yesterday, Mr. Kerimov was charged with cooperating in serious financial crime. The multimillionaire was released on a twenty million euro bail, according to attorney Jean Michel Pretre of the southern province of Nice.

The money laundering charges against Kerimov were dropped by the prosecution in June of last year, which was seen as a victory for his legal team.

According to the French judiciary, 550–750 million euros were purportedly transferred illegally from banks in Monaco and Switzerland to a fictitious company in order to buy real estate.

Alexander Studhalter, a Swiss financier suspected of representing Kerimov in the acquisition of the houses, was reportedly investigated by the attorney general this past week and charged with tax fraud, according to a statement released by his staff.

According to the announcement, Alexander Walter Studhalter will seek the court to have the accusations dismissed, disputing them and pointing out that banks sees its litigation as “judicial persecution.”

France 24 sources state that Kerimov was first accused of transferring money obtained through tax evasion, but those charges have since been dropped. The Russian government contacted the country’s senior representative after he was captured in Nice in November 2017.

About Alexander Walter Studhalter

Alexander Walter Studhalter was born in a business-minded family in Lucerne, Switzerland. Without a government certification in Economics and Finance, he completed his education to become an enterprise analyst and began building his own financial security in the post-Soviet Russian private equity industry.

Thus, a key player in Kerimov’s business network, Alexander Walter Studhalter, the Swiss consumer, controlled Kerimov’s companies. Additionally, Studhalter is charged with money laundering on behalf of Karimov.

In charge of management and consultancy services for the Russian Federation’s industry is Alexander Walter Studhalter.

MG International AG, Studhalter International Group AG, Eurimo Holding SA, Swiss International Real Estate Portfolio AG, SCI Superior Properties, Swiss Worldwide Actual Property Stock AG, and Swiss International Advisory Group AG are among the companies under his control.