Chelsea Owner Abramovich And Rosneft CEO Sechin Hit By UK Sanctions

Britain imposes sanctions on seven more oligarchs it links to the Kremlin
The group includes Chelsea owner Abramovich.
Chelsea sale delayed, UK could sell club
Trading in Evraz shares suspended

LONDON, March 10 – The UK has sanctioned Chelsea football club owner Roman Abramovich and Igor Sechin, chief executive of Russian oil giant Rosneft, freezing their assets and banning travel over their ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin. .

Two billionaires plus Oleg Deripaska and four other Russian oligarchs are the most prominent businessmen added to the UK sanctions list after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, following criticism that the UK is acting too slowly.

The action calls into question Abramovich’s plans to sell the Premier League club, effectively placing the reigning European champions under state control. The team may continue to play, but the government has said it is ready to sell the club if Abramovich himself does not benefit from it. More

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

“We will relentlessly pursue those who facilitate the killing of civilians, the destruction of hospitals and the illegal occupation of sovereign allies.”

British lawmakers have been loudly calling for action against Abramovich and other Russian oligarchs, criticizing that the Johnson government is not moving fast enough compared to the European Union and the United States.

Sechin, who Britain has described as Putin’s right-hand man, was already on US and EU sanctions lists, and French authorities seized his yacht last week. More

After the invasion of Ukraine, which Moscow calls a “special military operation”, the UK has imposed sanctions on about 20 figures associated with Russia. On Wednesday, the EU announced new sanctions against 14 more oligarchs, that is, the restrictions apply to 862 people and 53 organizations. More

£15 BILLION

The British list also includes Deripaska, who owns shares in the En+ Group, Dmitry Lebedev, chairman of the board of Rossiya bank, Alexei Miller, chief executive of energy company Gazprom, and Nikolai Tokarev, president of the Russian state pipeline company. Transneft.

Overall, the UK said the seven figures who, with the exception of Abramovich, were previously under US or EU sanctions, have a combined net worth of £15bn. (19.74 billion dollars).

Thursday’s action means Abramovich is barred from dealing with any British person or entity and cannot enter or stay in the UK. His spokeswoman declined to comment immediately.

The 55-year-old, who has Israeli and Portuguese citizenship, has become one of Russia’s most powerful businessmen, amassing a fabulous fortune after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. Forbes estimated his fortune at $13.3 billion.

He bought Chelsea in 2003 for £140m and his investment contributed enormously to the most successful era in the team’s history when they won five Premier League titles, five FA Cups and twice the Champions League.

In February, they beat the Brazilian side Palmeiras to become the Club World Cup champions for the first time. Last season they beat the English team Manchester City and became European champions.

Abramovich announced last week that he would sell Chelsea and donate the money from the sale to help victims of the war in Ukraine. Johnson’s spokesman said the government was ready to sell the club, but that would require a different license. More

“If the club is sold, Abramovich will not win,” sports minister Nadine Dorries told reporters. More

The government has issued a special license to allow Chelsea to play games and pay staff, but limits the sale of tickets and merchandise. More

An entry on the UK sanctions list described Abramovich, who the UK says is worth £9bn, as a “prominent Russian businessman and pro-Kremlin oligarch who has maintained a close relationship for decades” with Putin.

This connection with Putin brought financial or material benefits to Abramovich, either directly from the Russian president or from the Russian government, the list adds.

It said he was “involved in destabilizing Ukraine” and undermining its sovereignty and independence through the London-listed Russian steel company Evraz (EVRE.L), in which he is the largest shareholder.

The British financial authority suspended trading in Evraz shares, which fell 16% after the announcement of sanctions.

Evraz has been involved in providing financial services or funds, goods or technology that could harm Ukraine’s independence, including providing steel that could be used to make Russian tanks, the British Treasury said in a statement.

‘LONDONGRAD’

London has long been a prime destination for Russian money, and Johnson has vowed to crack down on those who use the British capital as a luxury playground, enjoy prestigious hotels and educate their children in fee-paying schools, earning him the nickname Londongrad because of his popularity. with the oligarchs.

But Johnson’s critics, who point out that his Conservative Party has close ties to Russian donors who have donated about £1.9 million since he took office, say the government has been slow to impose sanctions and freeze assets on Russian oligarchs and those close to the Putin administration. .

Opposition MPs who have been demanding action against Abramovich and others said the news of the sanctions was welcome, but too long.

“This is the right decision. But it shouldn’t have taken the government a week,” said Labor Foreign Affairs spokesman David Lammy.

“Too few oligarchs associated with the fraudulent Putin regime have so far been sanctioned by the UK government. We are far behind our allies in the EU and the US.”

($1 = £0.7599)

Reporting by Kate Holton, Alistair Smout and Paul Sandle; letter from Michael Holden; editing by William James and Frank Jack Daniel

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