Roman Abramovich, increasingly cornered: the latest photo, more sanctions and a scam of 2.7 billion dollars

Roman Abramovich lives hours of tension. The Russian oligarch, owner of the Chelsea Club and one of the richest men on the planet, is part of a network that would have swindled the Russian state out of almost $3 billion, according to British media. The steel tycoon, whose ties with despot Vladimir Putin placed him at the center of sanctions by the UK authorities and the European Union seems cornered. He was last seen at Ben Gurion Airport, in Tel Aviv, Israel, where he holds citizenship. He was on his way to Turkey, where he maintains other businesses.

But in the last few hours, British media — including the BBC and The Times — revealed that Abramovich would have been part of a multi-million dollar scam. “The complaint concerned his participation in two oil company purchase agreements that made their fortune. BBC Panorama said that a document taken from Russia showed that the government had been cheated out of $2.7 billion in its agreement to buy Sibneft,” the London daily said.

Abramovich bought Sibneft in 1995 for 247 million dollars. But in 2005 it was sold to the Russian state for no less than 17 billion dollars. It had been 10 years. A big deal for a few. Two years after Putin came to power and weaved his network of oligarchs faithful to his plan, the oligarch bought Slavneft, an oil and gas company.

Yuri Skuratov, former chief prosecutor of Russia, said: “Basically, it was a fraudulent scheme, in which those who participated in the privatization formed a criminal group that allowed Abramovich and (Boris) Berezovsky to deceive the government and not pay the money that this company was really worth,” as reproduced by The Times in reference to Slavneft. However, the judicial case did not succeed because of his political contacts. But above all, after the smear campaign that weighed on the investigator. Photographs of the prosecutor with two prostitutes appeared on official television. The investigation was fading away forever.

Berezovsky was the same one who committed a mortal sin: he tried to challenge Putin in politics. He must have gone into exile to London. But one night in March 2013 he was found dead in his mansion in Sunninghill, Berkshire.

“In 2002, Abramovich partnered with another company to buy Slavneft, another oil company. A member of the delegation of a rival Chinese bidder was kidnapped when they arrived in Moscow for the auction and was released after the company declared its withdrawal, the document states. There is no indication that Abramovich knew anything about the plot of the kidnapping,” the British newspaper noted.

Abramovich's lawyers denied that his client is part of a network that defrauded the Russian state with the purchases and subsequent sales of Sibneft and Slavneft.

The British broadcaster also accused the tycoon of really being the one who guards Putin's fortune. The European Union, for its part, sanctions it because it claims that its money is closely linked to Russia's war machine as a supplier and financier. Politico, who claims to have seen a draft of the document, claims that Abramovich enjoys “privileged access” to Putin and these “very good relations” fill their own pockets in industries that offered “a substantial source of income” to the Kremlin, helping Moscow finance its invasion of Ukraine, according to DailyMail.

Penalties

On Tuesday, the European Union adopted the fourth package of sectoral and individual sanctions for the Russian military aggression against Ukraine, aimed at dealing “another big blow” to the economic and logistical base of the Kremlin war machine.

The new package, promoted by European leaders at their informal meeting on March 10-11 in Versailles (France) and approved this Monday by the ambassadors of the Twenty-Seven to the European institutions, includes trade and financial restrictions and adds more oligarchs to the community club's blacklist.

This package shows the EU's “determination” to “support Ukraine and to halt the financing of the Kremlin's war machine,” said EU High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy Josep Borrell. “This is another big blow to the economic and logistical base on which Russia relies to carry out the invasion of Ukraine” and its goal is for Russian President Vladimir Putin to “stop this inhumane and senseless war,” Borrell added in a statement issued by the European Council, representing the EU countries.

This package expands the list of sanctioned individuals and entities, in a new step against the circle closest to the Kremlin, including oligarchs such as Roman Abramovich, well-known owner of Chelsea FC. Military commanders and entrepreneurs are also added, with more severe restrictions on the export of dual-use goods, civil and military. A total of 862 individuals and 53 Russian entities are already on the black list.

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