The assets of dead Russian entrepreneur Oleg Burlakov have been in legal limbo for years. Now the Swiss Criminal Court in Bellinzona takes a view.
The saga of the billions in assets belonging to Russian entrepreneur Oleg Leonidovich Burlakov, who died in 2021, has taken another surprising turn. The Swiss Federal Criminal Court in Bellinzona, which has made judgments in complex matters such as the 2022 Bulgarian drug trafficking ring case, has now taken a view on the long-running inheritance dispute.
Court documents indicate that the appeals filing by his widow and one of his daughters was rejected at the end of October. They were contesting a decree by the federal prosecuting attorney after her lawyers raised charges of money laundering, something that was subsequently rejected by the prosecutors. It also means that this specific decision can no longer be contested.
Refusal to Investigate
When asked by finews.com, a spokesperson familiar with the interests of the widow indicated the following: «The federal prosecutors refuse - again - to investigate a case of obvious money laundering in which Russian actors exploit the Swiss banking system for criminal actions».
This appears to be the case even if they were close to internationally sanctioned Russian individuals, the spokesperson continued, adding that it was clear that Swiss banks were used to funnel funds to Russia and then make them unreachable, possibly even making them available to those who were sanctioned.
The reply makes it succinctly clear that the legal dispute related to Burlakov and his considerable oil wealth is by no means over.
Battle Not Over
Experts believe that significantly more than 3 billion dollars remains in play, including his famous yacht, the «Black Pearl» (image below). A Swiss-instigated company called Edelweiss Investments in Panama is also a likely repository of a substantial quantity of his wealth.
(Bild: Shutterstock)
Long Running Dispute
The inheritance fight is a long-running one that has been publicly amplified by the boulevard press between Burlakov and his widow. She and their joint children are the inheritors of the assets according to a will under Canadian law.
But that is being contested by Burlakov's sister and a brother-in-law, who also believe they have inheritance rights. He and the sister are said to have a handwritten will confirming a foundation as heir.
Questions About Edelweiss
The group that includes the widow and one of the billionaire's nephews maintains the exact opposite, saying that their claim is a fraudulent one and that they want to confiscate parts of the inheritance. Supposedly, they have been taking assets from Edelweiss investments.
Those are the same charges that were in the legal complaint about money laundering submitted to the prosecuting attorney. According to court documents, the two are being accused of siphoning and laundering assets of more than 450 million francs, while trying to illicitly launder another 230 million francs.
Embezzlement and document forgery were indicated as the predicate crimes in the complaint.
Deemed Illegitimate
The appeals instance at the court has deemed the complaint illegitimate. The Federal Criminal Court indicated that the widow and her daughter were not directly damaged by the predicate crimes. Given that, they also couldn't have been directly affected by the ostensible cases of money laundering that took place and they therefore had no right to raise any charges.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the sister and brother-in-law welcomed the decision by the court in Bellinzona, a spokesperson indicated that they were «pleased to see their name cleared in respect of the allegations made by the Bourlakovas against them which they had always considered to be without any foundation or substance in law or in fact.»
Whatever the situation, the next surprising twist will probably come very soon given the number of lawyers and courts around the world handling the case.
