A private plane linked to sanctioned billionaire Chelsea Football Club owner Roman Abramovich has landed in Moscow.
The plane arrived in Moscow on Tuesday morning after taking off from Israel and stopping in Istanbul, flight tracking website FlightRadar24 said.
Abramovich was seen in a VIP lounge at the airport in Israel, although it is not known if he boarded the flight.
The Russian was among seven oligarchs sanctioned by the UK government last week in response to the Ukraine war.
Abramovich, 55, is alleged to have strong ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin, which he has denied.
- Secret document highlights Abramovich’s corrupt dealings
- Roman Abramovich sanctioned by the United Kingdom
- Who are the Russian mega-rich facing sanctions?
The Reuters news agency said it had obtained a photograph showing Abramovich in a VIP lounge at Ben Gurion airport in Lod, near Tel Aviv, on Monday.
It is not known whether he boarded the plane at any stage of his journey from Israel to Istanbul and later from Istanbul to Moscow.
Mr. Abramovich has Israeli and Portuguese citizenship.
A rabbi who helped him obtain Portuguese citizenship was arrested Thursday as part of an investigation into how that citizenship was granted.
Meanwhile, sources have told the BBC that the European Union is ready to include Abramovich in its expanded list of oligarchs who are subject to the EU asset freeze.
Under the UK sanctions, Abramovich and the other six oligarchs, including billionaires Igor Sechin and Oleg Deripaska, are barred from entering or staying in the UK.
Some of its assets were frozen, including Chelsea FC, although the club was allowed to continue operating under a special license granted by the UK government.
Abramovich announced that he would sell the club earlier this month, before the sanctions against him were introduced.
He is also believed to own a number of properties in the UK, including a 15-bedroom mansion in Kensington Palace Gardens in west London, valued at more than £150m.
His purchase of Chelsea FC in 2003 transformed the club’s fortunes, making it a team that won every major trophy in club football. It also raised the level of investment required to compete at the top of the Premier League.
Abramovich made his money in the 1990s during Boris Yeltsin’s presidency in Russia.
This week, a BBC Panorama investigation said it had uncovered new evidence about the “corrupt” deals that made his fortune.
The Chelsea owner made billions after buying an oil company from the Russian government in what BBC Panorama said was a rigged auction in 1995.
Abramovich paid around $250m (£190m) for Sibneft, before selling it back to the Russian government for $13bn in 2005.
His attorneys say there is no basis to claim that he has amassed very substantial wealth through crime.
Add Comment