German police seize Russian oligarch's luxury cars in raid on villa

German police and sanctions investigators seized assets allegedly linked to a Russian oligarch during a raid on a villa on Lake Tegernsee in the Bavarian Alps early Thursday.

Several luxury cars were among the items seized from the villa in the town of Rottach-Egern. About 30 investigators searched the property, which was cordoned off with police tape.

Investigators also raided several other properties in the greater Munich area and around Lake Tegernsee as part of the case against unnamed the Russian national, Germany's Central Office for Sanctions Enforcement (ZfS) said in a statement.

The Russian oligarch targeted in the raid is on the European Union's sanctions list, sources told dpa. A ZfS spokesman said the targeted individual is listed in Annex I in the EU Sanctions Regulations.

The EU imposed hefty sanctions on wealthy Russian oligarchs and Russian companies following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

According to a ZfS spokesman, German police, tax investigators and customs officials were all involved in the operation, which carried out search warrants authorized by a court.

The EU sanctions mandate that all assets owned or held by a person are frozen and cannot be transferred or disposed of, the spokesman said.

He declined to provide further information about Thursday's raids, citing secrecy around police tactics.