Category Archives: Roman Abramovich

Home Office accused of cover-up over ‘golden visas’ for super-rich Russians

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Government refused to publish review of system that allowed Russians now sanctioned due to Ukraine war to live in Britain

The government has been accused of a cover-up for refusing to publish a review of the so-called golden visa scheme that allowed wealthy investors, including at least 10 sanctioned Russian oligarchs, to take up residency in the UK.

The Tier 1 visa scheme, whereby super-rich individuals could buy the right to live in the UK by investing in British-registered companies, was closed in February 2022 after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, amid concerns that the system was being abused.

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‘Incomprehensible’ that Abramovich’s Chelsea funds not yet spent on Ukraine

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Lords report says UK government must break impasse over details of how frozen assets should be spent

Peers have criticised the UK government for failing to agree a deal with the former Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich to spend £2.5bn from his sale of the London football club.

Members of the House of Lords’ European affairs committee have described ministers’ failure to spend the money on Ukraine “incomprehensible”, nearly two years after the sale was agreed.

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Ukraine creates database of art linked to sanctions-hit Russians

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Corruption agency hopes portal will ‘make it difficult for Russian oligarchs to sell such assets’

From Leonardo da Vinci’s Salvator Mundi to Andy Warhol’s Four Marilyns, it amounts to an art collection that could grace any gallery in the world.

But rather than being the highlights of a blockbuster exhibition at a major gallery, these are just some of the 300, and counting, pieces known to have been recently owned by Russian nationals under western sanctions that have been entered into a searchable database set up by Ukraine’s National Agency on Corruption Prevention (NACP).

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UK imposes sanctions on ‘enablers’ accused of helping Russian oligarchs

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‘Financial fixers’ alleged to have helped Roman Abramovich and Alisher Usmanov to hide assets are among those targeted

The UK government has imposed sanctions on the “financial fixers” who have allegedly helped the Russian oligarchs Roman Abramovich and Alisher Usmanov hide their assets.

The sanctions, announced by the Foreign Office on Wednesday, are targeted at what officials describe as “oligarch enablers”, whom they accuse of knowingly assisting the billionaire businessmen to shield their wealth.

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Leak reveals Roman Abramovich’s billion-dollar trusts transferred before Russia sanctions

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Exclusive: Files raise questions about whether oligarch’s children were made beneficiaries to protect fortune from possible asset freezes

Trusts holding billions of dollars of assets for Roman Abramovich were amended to transfer beneficial ownership to his children shortly before sanctions were imposed on the Russian oligarch.

Leaked files seen by the Guardian suggest 10 secretive offshore trusts established to benefit Abramovich were rapidly reorganised in early February 2022, three weeks before the start of Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine.

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Russian oligarchs lose $95bn in 2022 amid sanctions after Ukraine war

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Roman Abramovich’s fortune fell by 57% to $7.8bn, as the UK government froze more than £18bn of assets belonging to Russians

The richest Russian oligarchs have lost almost $95bn this year amid strict sanctions imposed by western nations over the Ukraine war – shedding $330m a day since the Kremlin launched its invasion.

Roman Abramovich, the former Chelsea FC owner, was the biggest loser, with his fortune falling by 57% to $7.8bn this year, according to the Bloomberg billionaires index.

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Canada targets Abramovich company for Ukraine sanctions seizure

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Government plans to seize US$26m from Granite Capital Holdings, owned by sanctioned former Chelsea FC owner

Canada plans to seize US$26m from a company owned by the sanctioned Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich, the federal government said on Monday.

The pursuit of Abramovich’s Granite Capital Holdings marks a first attempt by Ottawa to seize assets belonging to a sanctioned individual and reflects a broader strategy to punish Russia and its wealthy elite for the invasion of Ukraine.

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Saudi foreign minister defends role in securing Ukraine prisoner swaps

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Prince Faisal bin Farhan al Saud decries as ‘cynical’ accusations his country was trying to improve its image after Khashoggi killing

It would be cynical to see Saudi Arabia’s efforts to secure the release of international prisoners held by Russian proxies in Ukraine as an attempt to improve the country’s image after the killing of Jamal Khashoggi, its foreign minister has said.

Prince Faisal bin Farhan al Saud said on Friday that Riyadh had first approached the UK government in April, shortly after Aiden Aslin, a British citizen, and others were captured at Mariupol, and had acted for compassionate reasons, hoping to negotiate their release.

This story was amended on Friday 23 September 2022 to correct the name of the Saudi foreign minister.

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Blacklist Dubai over failure to crack down on Russian oligarchs, say campaigners

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UAE has become haven for superyachts, private jets and ‘dirty money’ since invasion of Ukraine, but has taken no action

Campaigners and politicians are calling for the United Arab Emirates to be blacklisted over its failures to combat the flow of “dirty money” and to enforce sanctions imposed on Russian oligarchs.

The Gulf state has emerged as a key refuge for the Russian super-rich fleeing the impact of global sanctions, with private jets and superyachts linked to oligarchs heading to the UAE after the invasion of Ukraine.

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Federal judge authorizes US to seize two of Roman Abramovich’s private jets

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US justice department prosecutors say both jets flew to Russia in March, violating export restrictions

A federal judge in New York on Monday authorized the US government to seize two private jets owned by Roman Abramovich, after they flew to Russia following its invasion of Ukraine, officials said.

The order from Judge Sarah Cave, based in Manhattan, is one of several sanctions from the US and other western countries aimed at billionaires from Russia since the invasion in February.

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UK imposes sanctions on Roman Abramovich-linked steel firm Evraz

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Foreign Office says company part-owned by billionaire ‘operates in sectors of strategic significance to government of Russia’

The UK government has placed sanctions on Evraz, the multinational steelmaker part-owned by the billionaire Roman Abramovich that was formerly counted among Britain’s biggest companies.

The Foreign Office said on Thursday that Evraz “operates in sectors of strategic significance to the government of Russia” and the action would “further chip away at Putin’s financial reserves and siege economy, and support Ukraine’s continued resistance”.

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London-based port operator accused over Abramovich $600m superyacht

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Global Ports Holding facility in Turkey may be breaching UK sanctions by letting vessel dock, say lawyers

A London-headquartered port operator could be breaching sanctions laws by allowing Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich to dock his $600m (£460m) superyacht Solaris at a port that it operates in Turkey.

Legal experts said Global Ports Holding, which has been listed on the London Stock Exchange since 2007, was taking “a very big risk” by allowing a superyacht owned by a sanctioned individual to use one of its ports.

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‘The world is waiting for good news’: Russia-Ukraine peace talks press on in Turkey

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Politicians from the warring countries descended on Istanbul’s Dolmabahçe Palace for another round of negotiations

Sipping on a tulip-shaped glass of Turkish black tea, Roman Abramovich sat on the sunlit terrace of Istanbul’s Shangri-La hotel on Tuesday afternoon and talked intently with the Ukrainian negotiating team.

Despite the seafood and burger restaurant’s extensive menu and large fridge advertising its stock of dry-aged meat, the Russian oligarch did not appear to eat during the entire meeting. Less than 24 hours had passed since he was reported to have suffered symptoms consistent with poisoning.

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Russia vows to ‘radically reduce’ military activity in northern Ukraine

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Experts and western diplomats voice caution over pledge on first day of face-to-face talks in Istanbul

Russia has pledged to drastically cut back its military activity in northern Ukraine to help advance peace talks, but experts and western diplomats expressed doubts that the move was more than a ploy to dress up setbacks on the ground.

Russia’s deputy defence minister, Alexander Fomin, said after talks in Istanbul on Tuesday that Moscow wanted to “increase mutual trust, create the right conditions for future negotiations and reach the final aim of signing a peace deal with Ukraine”, and that the Kremlin would “radically reduce military activity in the direction of Kyiv and Chernihiv”.

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Abramovich and Ukrainian MP may have been poisoned this month

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Russian billionaire and Rustem Umerov had symptoms consistent with poisoning earlier in March, says source

The latest round of negotiations between Russia and Ukraine, set to begin in Istanbul on Tuesday, have been overshadowed by claims that the Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich and other members of an informal Russian-Ukrainian negotiating group suffered symptoms consistent with poisoning during an informal round of talks earlier this month.

The allegations surfaced on the eve of the first face-to-face peace talks in weeks, amid fears that the Kremlin was not ready to compromise, despite the stiff resistance its forces have encountered since the invasion began.

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Roman Abramovich spotted at Israeli airport following UK sanctions

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Photograph shows Chelsea FC owner in VIP lounge shortly before jet linked to him took off for Istanbul

Roman Abramovich, the billionaire owner of Chelsea FC who was subjected to sanctions by the UK government last week, has been spotted at a VIP lounge at an airport in Israel.

One of seven Russians who had their assets frozen last Thursday in an attempt to ratchet up the pressure on Vladimir Putin after the invasion of Ukraine, Abramovich was seen in Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion airport on Monday shortly before a jet linked to him took off for Istanbul.

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Why has Abramovich’s billionaire friend been left off the UK sanctions list?

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Eugene Shvidler has stepped down as a director of Ervaz, the steel company accused of possibly supplying steel for tanks

In March 2000, five of Russia’s richest oligarchs met in a suite at the Dorchester Hotel in London to discuss a multibillion-pound merger involving some of the biggest assets in the world aluminium industry.

The tycoons - one of whom arrived from a legal hearing in the House of Lords - discussed Russian politics, the aluminium wars in their country in the 1990s and the creation of the industrial giant Rusal.

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UK imposes sanctions on Roman Abramovich over ‘clear’ links to Putin

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Chelsea FC owner one of seven Russians to have assets frozen and be accused of ‘having blood on their hands’

Roman Abramovich, one of the world’s richest men, was finally subjected to sanctions by the UK government after ministers accused him of having “clear connections” to Vladimir Putin’s regime and being among a group of businessmen who had “blood on their hands”.

The owner of Chelsea FC was one of seven Russians worth up to £15bn who had their assets frozen on Thursday and were banned from travelling to Britain in a move designed to dramatically increase pressure on the Kremlin over its invasion of Ukraine.

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UK politics live: Boris Johnson says government will keep tightening ‘economic vice around Putin regime’

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Latest updates: prime minister suggests further sanctions to come in future

Chelsea FC will still be allowed to play matches despite its owner, Roman Abramovich, being sanctioned, the government says. It explains:

Given the significant impact that today’s sanctions would have on Chelsea football club and the potential knock on effects of this, the government has this morning published a licence which authorises a number of football-related activities to continue at Chelsea. This includes permissions for the club to continue playing matches and other football related activity which will in turn protect the Premier League, the wider football pyramid, loyal fans and other clubs. This licence will only allow certain explicitly named actions to ensure the designated individual is not able to circumvent UK sanctions. The licence will be kept under constant review and we will work closely with the football authorities.

There can be no safe havens for those who have supported Putin’s vicious assault on Ukraine.

Today’s sanctions are the latest step in the UK’s unwavering support for the Ukrainian people. We will be ruthless in pursuing those who enable the killing of civilians, destruction of hospitals and illegal occupation of sovereign allies.

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London Stock Exchange suspends trading in more Russian firms

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James Rutherford resigns from board of Evraz, steel and mining group in which Roman Abramovich has stake

The London Stock Exchange has suspended trading in more Russian companies, while an independent director resigned from the board of Evraz, the steel and mining group in which Roman Abramovich holds a 29% stake.

The LSE suspended trading in the remaining eight companies with strong links to Russia that were not included on a list of 27 companies suspended on Thursday.

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