A Russian billionaire who had bought a Florida home from President Trump a decade ago was detained for questioning as part of an investigation examining corruption, according to a new report.
Dmitry Rybolovlev was taken into custody on Tuesday, the same day his home in Monaco was also searched, French newspaper Le Monde reports. His detainment comes as the prosecutor general of Monaco has been conducting an investigation into “corruption” and “trafficking in active and passive influence.”
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According to Rybolovlev’s lawyers Herve Temime and Thomas Giaccardi, Rybolovlev was pressed by authorities about content that was discovered on his lawyers’ phone. Rybolovlev first became involved in the probe after it was uncovered that one of his lawyers had communicated on several occasions with top police and justice officials in Monaco.
“We regret the violation of the secrecy of the investigation, and we ask that Dmitry Rybolovlev’s presumption of innocence is rigorously respected,” Temime and Giaccardi said in statement, according to Bloomberg News.
Rybolovlev’s purchase of a home from Trump is also under scrutiny by special counsel Robert Mueller, who is examining Russian interference in the 2016 election and whether the Trump campaign colluded with the Kremlin.
The New York Times reports that Rybolovlev purchased the home for millions of dollars more than Trump paid for it just several years prior. Additionally, Rybolovlev did not live in the mansion and has divided the property into three parcels, two of which have sold for a total of $71 million.
Trump has repeatedly condemned the Mueller investigation, calling it a “witch hunt.”
