Billionaire-turned-politician Bidzina Ivanishvili’s Cartu Bank said on Wednesday, that the police seized its USD 2 million and EUR 1 million in cash during a raid on its armored van on October 19.

The Interior Ministry said that “large amount of cash” was confiscated in connection to criminal charges initiated over unspecified money laundering case. Six employees of the bank, accompanying the cash, were detained, but released after questioning.

Money laundering allegation was among the reasons cited by Georgia’s central bank on October 19 behind its decision to launch a probe into Cartu Bank’s operations.

Cartu Bank has dismissed money laundering allegation as “incomprehensible”, saying in a written statement that the confiscated money was intended for its daily cash needs and was obtained through a routine transition with the Bank of Georgia.

The bank, which reported net income of GEL 5.9 million as of June 2011, also said that its armored Volkswagen cash-in-transit van was also confiscated.