Russian billionaire Mikhail Fridman has been arrested in London on suspicion of money laundering, Russia’s state news agency TASS reported after Britain’s National Crime Agency said a “wealthy Russian businessman” had been arrested.
Criminal Investigation said the businessman, whom they did not identify, was arrested at his home in London on Thursday on suspicion of money laundering, conspiracy to defraud the Home Office and conspiracy to commit perjury, according to a statement released on Saturday. The man was later released on bail, officials said.
Fridman, one of the managing directors of Alfa Group, one of Russia’s largest private investment groups, is on the EU sanctions list over Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. The EU called Fridman, 58, “a top Russian financier and a forerunner of Putin’s inner circle” when it placed him on the sanctions list in late February.
In its statement on Saturday, Britain’s Criminal Investigation Agency said a 58-year-old man was among three men arrested by Combating Kleptocracy Cell officers on Thursday at a “multi-million pound residence” in London. All three men have been released on bail, the agency said.
Alfa Group issued a statement Saturday that Fridman was not arrested; However, the statement did not address whether Fridman had been released on bail, according to a report by Radio Free Europe.