Seizure Of 70 Million Euros: France Strikes At The Heart Of The Russian Elites

The economic war waged alongside the invasion of Ukraine is taking a new turn with concrete actions against the Russian elite. This time, the French justice system has struck a big blow by seizing more than €70 million worth of assets belonging to Russian businessmen.

The seizure of Russian assets in France

After months of investigation, the French judiciary announced the seizure of more than €70 million worth of assets held by two Russian businessmen, Ruslan Goryukhin and Mikhail Opengeym. These legal actions complement the economic sanctions already imposed on Russia. According to a source close to the case, this seizure was carried out as part of an investigation for “aggravated money laundering.” Among the frozen assets are luxury properties located in the Alpes-Maritimes and the Var, including a 22.5-hectare estate in Grasse and villas in Saint-Raphaël and Grimaud. The National Jurisdiction for the Fight against Organized Crime (Junalco) supervised this investigation, launched in March 2024, which identified several properties and two luxury vehicles, valued at €69.8 million and €670,000 respectively.

Indeed, the two men are accused of using complex financial arrangements to conceal the dubious origin of their funds. Goryukhin and Opengeym, both holders of Cypriot passports, allegedly used offshore companies to finance the acquisition of these real estate assets through interest-free loans. These loans, provided by companies they themselves control, allowed them to be both creditors and beneficiaries, making the transactions difficult for authorities to trace. The investigation also highlights the involvement of legal professionals, including a notary based in Grasse, who allegedly validated these financial arrangements.

The investigation and its international ramifications

In addition to the seized properties, the French investigation closely examines the links between these businessmen and financial intermediaries based in Monaco. Searches revealed that these intermediaries, including Rosemont Consulting, a company specialized in tax engineering, allegedly played a central role in creating the legal structures used for suspicious transactions. Thus, “The amount of frozen Russian assets in France amounts to €1.2 billion,” according to Guillaume Valette-Valla, director of Tracfin.

The seizure of Goryukhin and Opengeym’s assets is part of a coordinated international strategy to freeze the assets of those close to the Kremlin in response to the invasion of Ukraine. In France, these measures have intensified in recent months, but remain insufficient in the face of the complexity of offshore arrangements. Cooperation between European authorities will be crucial to unravel these opaque financial networks and ensure the effectiveness of sanctions. Moreover, increased monitoring of global financial flows and legal professions involved in these transactions could become a major focus of future legal actions.

This case is just one piece of the vast puzzle of economic sanctions against Russia, but it illustrates the difficulty of tracking and seizing assets acquired through sophisticated financial arrangements. As the French judiciary intensifies its efforts, international pressure for greater financial transparency is mounting. The next steps of this investigation, and those to come, could redefine the tools to combat transnational financial crime. Thus, the implications for Russian oligarchs and their networks in Europe are immense, and such actions could inspire other jurisdictions to act. Such seizures may rekindle the interest of Russian businessmen in crypto investments, particularly Bitcoin.