Sometimes something has to happen to bring a long-standing problem back into focus.

This is shown by the case of Alisher Usmanov.

The Russian oligarch led a life of luxury on Lake Tegernsee and stayed in a chic villa.

Years ago, banks expressed suspicions that laundered money could be involved.

But nothing really happened after that, the warnings stayed the same.

Sarah Huemer

Editor in the "Value" department of the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sunday newspaper.

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Now, since the war in Ukraine, interest in Usmanov and his fortune has suddenly increased.

He is considered a close confidant of Putin and is on the European sanctions list, along with other oligarchs.

Authorities are trying to identify their assets.

This search is not easy.

The owners often hide behind shell companies through which they buy villas, yachts or companies.

The villa where Usmanov lived is also officially owned by a corporation in the tax haven of the Isle of Man.

He himself emphasizes that he acquired his own fortune legally.

Hidden fortune in Germany

Experts have been complaining for years that Germany is doing far too little against laundered money - that is, money that comes from illegal transactions such as corruption or the arms trade and that oligarchs, mafiosi and autocrats smuggle into legal channels.

They want to hide and secure their wealth.

Or avoid paying taxes.

Complicated constructions across several countries make all of this possible. Money from Russia is smuggled into the European Union via Cyprus, for example.

But that's not all: Corruption funds from China come to the West via the financial center in Hong Kong.

Dubai and the British Virgin Islands are also hubs for illicit money.

In the end, the money goes into houses, yachts or companies in Germany.

It is estimated that €100 billion of laundered money enters the country every year.

A gigantic problem, especially now, finds Gerhard Schick.

"What you get with sanctions is only a fraction of what you actually have to confiscate," he says.

The former member of the Bundestag for the Greens does not only mean sanctions against Russian oligarchs, but also against suspicious people from all over the world.

Schick founded the Finanzwende organization in 2017.

To ensure that sanctions are effective and that no dirty money enters the country, he calls for a complete rethink in politics.

"Just like with oil and natural gas, we also have to look at where the money is coming from."

But the authorities in this country fail again and again.

It is not easy to investigate every single case in minute detail and follow the money trail.

There is a lack of staff.

And the areas of responsibility are not well regulated either.

Example of money laundering in real estate: The federal states should actually take care of that.

But you want the federal government to do it.

Above all, he takes care of the Financial Unit Intelligence (FIU), an authority in Cologne that is supposed to check suspicious reports of transfers.

This is regularly criticized for not being careful enough.

The organization did not want to comment on a request from the FAS.

Looking the other way is often the easier way

"Many don't even want to look, it's in their interest that the wheel just keeps turning," he says.

Some mayors are happy when someone buys the expensive real estate.

Notaries earn money from these purchases.

They actually have to check the origin of the money, but that doesn't always happen.

Looking the other way is often the easier way, even for some politicians.

Because dealing with money laundering is tedious and complicated.

This lax approach to money laundering makes Germany particularly popular with criminals.

They can also pay for expensive purchases with cash, which is often not possible in other countries.

In France there is an upper limit of 1000 euros, in Spain it is 2500 euros.

In Greece, all purchases over 500 euros must be paid by bank transfer.

In addition: Germany is an attractive country for investors (also for flawless ones).

And owning real estate in Germany has paid off well in recent years.

The gaps in the fight against money laundering are so blatant that the international money laundering task force FATF even wanted to blacklist Germany in 2014.

The federal government at the time promised improvement.

And indeed there have been a few changes.

For example, a transparency register was introduced in which the owners or managers of a company must register.

The rules for notaries have also become stricter and laws have been tightened

But there could be a lot more.

For example, experts are calling for a real estate register.

The names of the owners of houses, apartments and land should be noted therein, dubious companies from tax havens are not allowed.

In any case, it would be better if the authorities did not have to chase the money to uncover the money laundering network.

The authorities always lag behind, no matter how hard they try.

It would be better if owners of real estate and companies had to prove where the money came from.

If they don't, the authorities can confiscate the house or yacht.

This is called the reversal of the burden of proof. This is how it works in Italy, for example, when the authorities try to unmask suspected members of the mafia and their dirty money.

In order to simplify cooperation between the countries, there will soon be a European anti-money laundering authority.

They could then monitor the national regulations.

A report by the international money laundering task force will indicate how strictly Germany must be looked at.

Last fall, the agency was checked again to see how carefully it uncovered money that had been laundered.

The results will be published in August.