Today, March 30, 2026, a trial began in Paris against a Russian businessman accused of laundering funds linked to the Sergei Magnitsky case.
According to French media, a Paris court is hearing a criminal case involving the laundering of money stolen from the Russian state budget in 2009 as part of the so-called “Magnitsky affair.” The charges concern an alleged scheme to legitimize illegally transferred funds through French bank accounts and real estate.
At the center of the case are transactions from accounts linked to businessman Denis Klyuyev. French investigators established that between April 2008 and October 2012, more than €2 million was spent from these accounts on luxury purchases, including works of art, automobiles, and other assets. According to the prosecution, these transactions served to launder money stolen from the Russian budget through tax fraud schemes.
The case is connected to one of the most high-profile corruption scandals in Russia — the death of lawyer Sergei Magnitsky in pretrial detention after he exposed a multi-billion-ruble VAT refund fraud. A portion of the stolen funds was allegedly transferred abroad, including to EU countries.
The trial is taking place as part of French authorities’ broader efforts to combat money laundering, including funds of Russian origin. Evidence of financial transactions, banking documents, and expert testimony are expected to be presented at the hearings.
The full name of the accused Russian businessman has not yet been disclosed in public sources; however, the case is attracting considerable attention as part of a wider campaign to prosecute suspicious financial flows from Russia.