Chelsea owner, Russian Abramovich, has assets frozen by the British government

Billionaire Roman Abramovich, owner of Chelsea, is among seven Russian citizens added on Thursday by the British government to its list of individuals under sanctions, in reaction to the invasion of Ukraine by Vladimir Putin’s troops. The decision triggers asset freezes and travel bans.

“There can be no safe haven for those who supported Putin’s violent attack on Ukraine,” said British Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

The British government has limited the sale of Chelsea players and even tickets, but the team can continue to play matches as normal. A special license has been issued for the club to pay employees.

The sanctions come after the British government was criticized for being slow to act. “Oligarchs and kleptocrats have no place in our economy, nor in our society. With their close ties to Putin, they are complicit in his aggression,” said British Chancellor Liz Truss.

In early March, Abramovich announced he would sell Chelsea, which he bought in 2003, but the new sanctions imposed cast doubt on the Russian’s ability to complete the transaction.

The government’s action means Abramovich is banned from transacting with British individuals and companies and cannot enter or remain in British territory. The billionaire’s spokesperson declined to immediately comment on the decision.

The seven Russians who were targeted by the sanctions have an estimated net worth of US$ 19.7 billion, something around R$ 99 billion.

In addition to Abramovich, targets were: Igor Sechin, president of Russia’s largest oil producer; Oleg Deripaska, who has stakes in the En+ Group; Dmitri Lebedev, president of Rossiya Bank; Alexei Miller, an executive at energy company Gazprom; and Nikolai Tokarev, president of Russia’s state-owned gas pipeline.

The British government claims that Abramovich’s fortune is around 9 billion pounds (approximately R$59 billion). When added to the sanctions list, the Chelsea owner was described as “a prominent Russian businessman and pro-Kremlin oligarch” who has “a close relationship for decades” with Putin.

Also according to the document, the proximity to the president of Russia brought several benefits to the businessman. “This includes tax breaks received by companies linked to Abramovich, purchase and sale of shares at favorable rates and contracts received in the run-up to the 2018 World Cup.”

yachts

On the 2nd, five Russian billionaires moved their yachts to the Maldives to try to stay away from Western sanctions.

The island nation, located in the Indian Ocean, does not have an extradition treaty with the United States, which is valuable at a time when several countries are freezing money and confiscating the assets of members of Russia’s financial elite.

The day before the move to the Maldives, US President Joe Biden had announced that he would work with the European Union to target the oligarchs, seizing their yachts, luxury apartments and private jets.

At that time, at least one vessel had been taken. A yacht valued at US$120 million that was moored in the port of La Ciotat in southern France and is attributed to Igor Sechin.