Two Courchevel Hotels Seized by French Courts from Russian ex Finance Minister

The Pralong and the Crystal hotels are believed to have been bought by Alexei Kuznetsov with the proceeds of criminal activities and, at the request of the Prosecutor General's Office of the Russian Federation, have been seized by French authorities.

Kuznetsov and other members of his criminal group are thought to have been responsible for large scale fraud, embezzlement and money laundering from housing and utilities businesses amounting to around 10 billion roubles.

A spokesperson for the Prosecutor General's office told newspaper 'Russia Behind the headlines' that "although these properties are formally owned by French legal entities, the court agreed to the Russian side's arguments that they were purchased with the proceeds from the criminal activities of Kuznetsov and his wife, U.S. citizen Janna Bulakh, in Russia".

Kuznetsov was recently apprehended in a St Tropez hotel after a tip off, where he was found to be in possession of a number of fake passports. He has been on the Interpol wanted list since 2012. The investigation continues.