A wealthy Russian-American businessman, owner of a popular chain of cosmetics stores, was arrested this Thursday, December 9 in Saint Petersburg. August Meyer is suspected of fraud of nearly 30 million euros and has been remanded in custody, along with his Russian wife.
With our correspondent in Moscow, Anissa El Jabri
In the summer of 2017, an entrepreneur happy to have chosen Russia to start a family and run a business, who had met the newspaper Forbes Russia. ” I am very proud to have received Russian citizenship », Declared August Meyer.
Owner of a very popular cosmetics chain, the 59-year-old businessman is ranked among the 200 richest people in the country with a heritage estimated at more than 650 million euros.
This is not his first encounter with Russian justice, but this time August Meyer and his wife are in pre-trial detention for two months. Investigators would have offered to release his wife if he admitted his guilt, says the business manager in a video released by the court.
The businessman risks a heavy penalty
Justice, it evokes the risks of leakage and destruction of evidence. Accused of fraud for an amount of approximately 30 million euros, August Meyer risks 10 years in prison.
Lawsuits against businessmen are common in Russia, but until two years ago they were rare against foreigners, until 2019 and theDelpal casewhich hit the headlines. Found guilty of embezzlement but given a suspended sentence and released last August, the French banker appealed.
Russian authorities have arrested a prominent American investor on suspicion of fraud over the collapse of a failed e-commerce sitehttps://t.co/1UjSEFBD3w
– The Moscow Times (@MoscowTimes) December 9, 2021