German police investigating allegations of money laundering against Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov have searched a motor yacht in northern Germany, Reuters reported, citing local prosecutors.

Usmanov's representatives said neither he nor his relatives had anything to do with the yacht.

Prosecutors did not name the vessel or its owner, but said the operation was aimed at the 69-year-old Russian businessman and that he was the subject of the same investigation as last week, when police searched a lakeside villa registered to Usmanov.

Usmanov's press office denies any wrongdoing and says the actions of the prosecutor's office and police are "examples of blatant lawlessness under the guise of the sanctions law."

Usmanov is on the EU sanctions list, which freezes his assets and prohibits him from traveling within the bloc because of ties to the Russian state.

Prosecutors said the yacht owner is suspected of carrying out financial transactions worth millions of euros between 2017 and 2022 in order to conceal the origin of the funds․