Secret $40m Deal Links Vladimir Putin to Roman Abramovich - BBC Newsnight

Nov 15, 2023

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Abramovich Hit by Multibillion-pound Crackdown on Assets in Jersey and France

THE GUARDIAN: More than £5.4bn of Chelsea FC owner’s assets frozen in Jersey and 12 luxury French properties seized

The Chelsea FC owner was subjected to UK sanctions on 10 March after ministers accused him of having ‘clear connections’ to Putin’s regime. Photograph: Paul Gilham/Getty Images
Roman Abramovich has had more than £5.4bn of his assets frozen in Jersey and 12 luxury properties – including a near-£100m villa on the Riviera that was once the holiday home of King Edward VIII – seized by the French government.

The Royal Court of Jersey announced on Wednesday that it had imposed a formal freezing order on “assets understood to be valued in excess of US$7bn, which are suspected to be connected to Mr Abramovich and which are either located in Jersey or owned by Jersey incorporated entities”.

The Russian oligarch and Chelsea FC owner was also hit by another crackdown in France on the assets of individuals affected by sanctions. The economy and finance ministry announced on Wednesday that it had seized 33 properties owned by oligarchs who had been hit by sanctions, including a dozen belonging to Abramovich.

“They include homes, superyachts and helicopters, and add up to well over €25bn,” a French finance ministry source said. “There are 33 properties that have been frozen, including a dozen belonging to Roman Abramovich.”

Among the properties seized is Abramovich’s Château de la Croë villa in Cap d’Antibes, which has eight bedrooms, a 15-metre rooftop pool, gym and cinema. The villa, which was built in 1926, is set in 12 acres of manicured lawns overlooking the Mediterranean. High-end estate agents estimate the property is now worth £90m-£100m. » | Rupert Neate, Wealth correspondent and Pjotr Sauer | Wednesday, April 13, 2022

Two New Secret Abramovich SuperYachts Discovered! | SY News

Antigua confirms Roman Abramovich owns 2 yachts moored on island Caribbean nation launched investigation after FT revealed boats’ ties to sanctions-hit Russian oligarch

Antigua’s minister of foreign affairs Paul Chet Greene said the island’s government had requested information on whether the owner of the BVI company, Wenham Overseas Limited, is on Britain’s sanctions list, in light of “persistent allegations by the Financial Times that the vessels could be owned by Mr Roman Abramovich”. The letter then confirmed that the British High Commission had provided Antiguan authorities with a letter “from the Financial Investigation Agency of the British Virgin Islands which states the beneficial owner of Wenham Overseas Ltd is Roman Abramovich”.

BBC Panorama - Roman Abramovich's Dirty Money

Mar 14, 2022 • BBC Panorama - Roman Abramovich's Dirty Money Chelsea-owner, Roman Abramovich, has been sanctioned by the UK government for his ties to Vladimir Putin. But where did the Russian billionaire’s money come from? Panorama reporter Richard Bilton travels to Siberia to investigate the corrupt deals that made his fortune. He uncovers new details about Mr Abramovich’s murky past and his relationship with the Kremlin.

UK Freezes Assets of Seven Russian Oligarchs Including Roman Abramovich

THE GUARDIAN: Others added to sanction list are Igor Sechin, Oleg Deripaska, Andrey Kostin, Alexei Miller, Nikolai Tokarev and Dmitri Lebedev

Chelsea owner, Roman Abramovich. Photograph: Mikhail Svetlov/Getty Images
Chelsea football club owner, Roman Abramovich, is among seven of Russia’s wealthiest and most influential oligarchs who have been sanctioned by the UK in an effort to further punish allies of Vladimir Putin over the invasion of Ukraine.

Abramovich was found by the UK government to have “received preferential treatment and concessions” from the Kremlin and through his business links been “involved in destabilising Ukraine and undermining and threatening the territorial integrity, sovereignty, and independence” of the eastern European country.

The Foreign Office said he was implicated through a steel manufacturing and mining company, Evraz PLC, in which he had a significant shareholding and over which he exercised effective control.

It said the firm may have supplied steel to the Russian military for the production of tanks. » | Aubrey Allegretti, Political correspondent | Thursday, March 10, 2022

Roman’s empire: how the seeds of Abramovich’s demise were there all along: Almost 20 years after his high profile purchase, the oligarch is looking to sell Chelsea. Here’s the story of how it unravelled »

Abramovich superyacht heads west across Mediterranean after sanctions: Solaris is tracked off coast of Sicily, joining hurried sailings of Russian yachts to avoid seizure »

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MP Calls for Roman Abramovich to Be Stripped of Chelsea Ownership

Roman Abramovich bought Chelsea Football Club in 2003 but has rarely been seen in Britain recently | ALEXANDER HASSENSTEIN/UEFA/GETTY IMAGES
THE TIMES: Roman Abramovich has been named as a person of interest by the UK government due to his links to the Russian state and his “public association with corrupt activity and practices”, according to a leaked document.

A confidential Home Office document dated 2019 cited the owner of Chelsea Football Club as an example of Russian billionaires that the government was monitoring.

It stated that the government would use “the relevant tools at its disposal, including immigration powers” to prevent Russian oligarchs using the UK to facilitate illicit finance.

Abramovich is not understood to have been barred from the country by the Home Office. » | Matt Dathan, Home Affairs Editor | Thursday, February 24, 2022

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Are we Brits so damn poor that we must prostitute ourselves to these Russian oligarchs? Kick them out! It doesn’t matter how many billions they have in their shady bank accounts. Their influence is polluting our body politic. And as for giving titles such as ‘Lord’ to Russians, it is nothing short of a disgrace.

We can thank the Tories for this, of course. To Tories, the bottom line means everything; principles count for little, or perhaps nothing.

Whilst these people are allowed to influence our politics, Putin will have his poisonous tentacles wrapped around British politics too. – © Mark